The Beginnings of Love and Hate
by Vedra
Summary: Turkey has fallen in love with Greece, and will do anything thing to make him apart of him. But what are the consequences of him acting so rashly?
1. Chapter 1

The Beginnings of Love and Hate

Ch. 1

I had always been enchanted with Mother Greece, but my attempts at wooing her were always over shadowed by Rome. I was very bitter about that, considering her death was a direct result of Rome's fall. Had she picked me, she would never have fallen. But never mind that. Her falling was, perhaps the best thing that happened to me. For right before she fell, she gave birth to Heracles. And the moment I saw him, I knew I had to have him. This was my chance at gaining my beloved Greece.

Now, I regret my actions, for I was much too filled with lust and greed to consider the consequences of my actions. I had always been a man of action, not of thought. Looking back on the events, I think it probably would have been better had I just formed a great diplomatic relationship with young Heracles, because surely, being so young in this world, he would need someone to rely on and then maybe one day he would have chose to become one with me. I had considered that option but that would have taken far, far too long. I wanted Greece now, and I would have him now, that's how I worked back then, I took what I wanted.

But I should start from the beginning. I remember everything about the day I met Heracles because that was the day I fell in love. His mother had already been gone for sometime and I had heard about young Heracles from Egypt, he told me that he seemed to really need looking after. I knew this was my chance. I knocked on the door of his house. When he opened the door I saw that he was still very young; he didn't even come up to my knee. I squatted down to his eye level and smiled. He was perfect; he looked just like his mother. "Hi, I'm The Ottoman Empire. But you can call me Sadiq" I said. "I'm you're neighbor across the sea."

He looked up at me with large brown eyes. A cat was playfully rubbing itself on his legs. He reached down and scooped it up. "Hi. I'm Heracles" he said awkwardly. "Do you want to come in?"

I nodded and straightened up and followed him inside. "I brought you a present." I said. I handed him a box of Turkish delight, kids liked candy right? Heracles stared at the wrapped package and tore the paper off delicately. I thought that was strange, most kids I knew tore the paper off with fervor. He looked at the box of candy thoughtfully for a long moment. Perhaps I should explain what it was. "It's candy." I said. At this he looked excited. He opened the box and popped one of the little treats into his mouth. He offered the box to me; I picked up one and also chewed.

"It's good." He said. "It tastes a lot like something my mother made for me once." That didn't surprise me; Mother Greece frequently borrowed my recipes. I nodded in agreement. I looked around his house admiringly. The architecture was stunning. It was very open and flowing. There were statues and art every where I looked. And also there were cats, lots and lots of cats, every where.

"So um, you like cats?" I said trying to make conversation. He nodded and fed the cat he was still holding one of the sweets. Geez this kid was hard to make conversation with. He was so quiet. "That's cool. I like cats too."

And that was the trick. "Really?" he asked. I nodded. "I'll introduce you to them. This is Adonis, Letha, Sophocles, Clio, Lryris, Jasmine, Narcissus, Mussetta, Zeth…" He continued to point out at least 24 more cats with names that I can't remember. And then when he was done with that, he explained to me the complicated relationships of the said cats, such as this one hates that one or that one is this one's kitten etc. It was adorable. And it got him talking. I loved how passionate he was.

I said my goodbyes to him shortly after that promising to visit again soon. I returned later that month, this time bringing him fine fabric as a present. He seemed very happy to see me, which pleased me a great deal. I had spent most of the past month coming up with a plan on how best capture him and bring him back to my Empire with me. I decided I would wait until the timing was right. During the next visit I asked him about the art around his home. And he launched into a whole explanation of the artists and why his art was so different from the rest of the worlds' and then he started talking about how the architecture of Greece was an art form in itself. We spoke about the other countries in the world; he seemed to be very fond of Egypt. He told me stories about how his mother took him to play with Egypt; apparently the two mothers had been great friends themselves. He told me the story of how Egypt had given him his first cat. It was a cute story.

Once again I took my leave. After this second visit I had truly fallen in love with the young nation. These visits had increased my desire for him ten fold. Now I was really determined to have him. A few days later I decided to pay him another visit. This time he asked me questions about my Empire which I was too happy to answer. I asked him about his philosophers. He beamed at me, and launched into the life's work of Socrates and Plato and Aristotle and all of the other important contributors to philosophy. I had a hard time following what he was saying, but he seemed to understand what he was saying with perfect clarity. His mother had taught him very well.

I decided that it was time to put my plan into action. Now it wasn't a very complicated plan, but it may be tricky, I didn't know how much he would try to fight me. I assumed not much, he was a lover not a fighter. At least that's what I thought. But I drastically under estimated him. The night I sunk into his room he was fast asleep curled up with a hundred different cats. I made a mental note to come back later and bring them back with me. Now I want to make it very clear that I never meant to hurt the kid. In fact I was trying to look out for him; everyone needs a big brother when they're young. But I never expected the resistance I faced. The kid was a fighter. But this made me want him even more. I leaned down and picked him up. Immediately he woke up. He bit me and screamed and kicked and hit. I easily pinned him down and picked him up and threw him over my shoulder, with him screaming and squirming and kicking and biting all the way home. I did what I had to do to keep him from escaping, and in the process he got pretty beaten up. I was ok though. I only had a few bruises and bite marks.

I put little Heracles on my bed in my room to let him rest up while I got a warm bath and bandages ready for him. I informed my servants to go fetch all of Heracles' cats from his house. I went to seek out Egypt, who was living in my house at the time, to let him know that I had succeeded in capturing young Greece. I found him in the library reading as usual. He looked up as I entered the room.

"I have successfully captured Greece. I want you to go look after him. He fought considerably more than I expected so he has more than a few wounds."

Gupta glared at me. "Fine, whatever."

I couldn't understand why he was so hostile to me. I would have thought he would have liked his old friend to be in the same household as him. I shrugged. I never could quite understand why Egypt did what he did half the time. "I'll tend to his wounds and what not, but he may need someone to talk to." he nodded and returned to his reading. When I got done with everything I went to my bedroom to fetch Heracles. As I approached the door of my chambers I heard hysterical sobbing coming from inside. I decided that perhaps it would be better to leave him alone for the time being.


	2. Hate

The Beginning of Love and Hate

Ch. 2

Heracles' POV

All I could do was cry. I couldn't believe I had trusted that bastard. He seemed so nice before, I had thought we were becoming friends, I thought I could trust him. I felt betrayed and there was nothing I could do. And I cried for my people, so many had been injured or killed in the battle to keep our freedom. And I cried because I was in so much pain, both physically and emotionally. But we would regain our freedom as soon as we could. With the injuries I suffered it would be awhile until I was strong enough to try fighting again. God that was a depressing thought. And I cried because he had so easily taken me from the place I loved so much. I didn't think I could have possibly had so many tears in my body.

Sadiq didn't return that night but about half way through the night a bunch of people entered my room carrying baskets. I sat up puzzled. One of the women spoke to me. "Our master told us to bring these to you." She opened the lid of one of the baskets and a few of my cats came out and she and the others opened up the other baskets and I was reunited with all my kitties. I managed to squeak out thanks to the kind women who had brought my kitties back to me. The cats had all swarmed over to me and many were climbing on me and the bed. I scratched them behind the ears affectionately. I winced as they climbed over my sore body. The women all left the room, but a boy a little older than me entered. I recognized him as Gupta. What was he doing here? "Heracles, are you ok?" he asked.

"No, not really." I said hostilely. I wanted to be left alone to cry.

He started fussing over me though. He was examining the bruises and cut on my face. He ran his fingers gently through my hair and cupped my face in his palm. I shoved his hand off. "Did Sadiq do this to you?" he asked.

I nodded. He clicked his tongue in disapproval. "Why must he always use such force?" he said shaking his head sadly. I had temporarily stopped crying but now I burst into tears again. He looked worried at this.

"Please, just leave me alone." I said.

He nodded and got up from the bed. "If you need anything I'll be in the library. I'm so sorry he did this to you." He said with a sad sigh. "He doesn't mean badly, but Sadiq can rarely control his impulses. Anyway, it's not so bad being under his rule. You'll get used it. Sleep, you'll feel better after a long sleep." And with that he closed the door and left.

If there was one thing I did not want, was to get used to being under control of The Ottoman Empire. I would not stand for it. I was too proud to ever get used to it. And I didn't care about the benefits of being under his rule, I wanted my freedom. I felt the tears streaming thickly from my eyes. I felt so betrayed, I had trusted Sadiq, and I had shared so much with him. I had given him so much, how could he be cruel to take everything else I had by force? I probably would have shared even more with him by choice. But now I was determined not to share anymore with him. He may have control over my 'vital regions' but that did not mean I would share with him the secrets of Greece. No, those I would never tell him. Especially now.

And what about Egypt, what role had he played in this? Had he sat back and let this happen? That thought hurt so much more than the betrayal of Sadiq. I had known Gupta every since I was born. Hell, he gave me my first cat. He and I had been very close friends. I wanted to believe that he tried to stop Sadiq, but I knew in my heart that he hadn't. I knew he would have been severely beaten if he tried to stop Sadiq, and there were no marks on his body. I felt so betrayed and hurt that I wanted to die. So I cried and when the tears didn't come anymore I continued to dry sob. I was so exhausted from the fight and crying I eventually fell asleep.

When I woke up I felt large heavy arms wrapped around my body. I unconsciously snuggled into them, it felt nice. There were several warm cats snuggled up next to me. I could get used to this. But then all the pervious night's events came flooding back to me, and all the pain hit me at once. And the pain in body came back as well and I realized that the arms around me must be that bastard, Sadiq. That made me feel sick to my stomach. I had to get him the hell off me. I raised my arms to try to take his arms off me and nearly screamed in pain. God, how was it possible for something to hurt so much? I couldn't move an inch with out making the pain ten times worse. So I was stuck there in the arms of my worse enemy.

I glared angrily at the wall. This monster had the nerve to hug me in his sleep, like I was his lover or something. That idea made me feel even sicker. God I HATED that man. I sighed heavily. I didn't know what was going to happen to me now. I felt tears well up in my eyes. I wanted to go home. I hated this strange room, it was nothing like my home, and it was so closed. It didn't have flowing lines like my home and there were no columns or large entrances to the outside like my room had. The fabric under my skin felt uncomfortable, it was unlike the light wool fabric I was used to. I recognized it as the same fabric Sadiq had given to me as a present. He had said it was silk. That made me hate it even more. And it made me hate that I had a tunic made up of the same fabric, just a few weeks ago.

I wasn't sure how long I lied awake in the bed before Sadiq opened his eyes. He smiled when he saw just who was in his arms. God, everything about this situation made me want to vomit. "Good morning sunshine." He said kissing my shoulder.

"Get the hell off of me, you bastard." I snarled.

He looked slightly shocked at that but didn't release his hold on me. "My, my, that's quite the language for such a young boy. Why such hateful words Heracles?"

I glared angrily at him. "You know exactly why, you asshole. You kidnapped me and occupied my 'vital regions.'"

"Ah, that." He said with a sly smile on his face.

I was seriously getting pissed off at this point. And if my body hadn't hurt so damn much I would have kicked him. "Yes, that. Now let me go." I hissed.

"Now, now you should mind your elders, Heracles." I spat on him. And that got him to release me. He wiped his faced. "You little brat." He growled.

I inched away from him as fast as my injured body would take me wincing at every tiny movement. I gave him a death glare. I hated him so much. He didn't stare at me with daggers as he watched me wince in agony though. He seemed troubled by it.

"Are you ok?" he asked suddenly.

"Yes, I'm as happy as cat with catnip." I said sarcastically. "No, of course I'm not ok, what kind of dumb question this that? People aren't ok when someone randomly kidnaps them in the middle of the night." I said bitterly.

"You wouldn't have gotten beaten up if you hadn't fought so much." Sadiq said. "I didn't want to do that, you know, but you gave me no choice."

"Oh, of course you would blame the victim." I said with an eye roll. "Like hell I wasn't going to fight you."

"Well that was stupid of you, just look at the shape you're in now. You can barely move." Sadiq said touching one of the bruises on my arm. I winced.

"Don't touch me." I hissed.

Sadiq rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry you feel that way because I have to give you a bath and treat your wounds." He said getting up from the bed and stretching lazily. Then he walked to the other side of the bed.

I saw what he meant to do and I quickly stuttered "I swear to god if you even put your…"

I was cut off by him scooping me up into his arms. I nearly screamed in pain. Being carried made every inch of my body hurt like hell. I would have bit him if my body did hurt so god damn much. He started walking off with me cradled in his arms. He wore a pained expression on his face. Good, at least he felt bad for doing this to me. God, I hated him.

Authors Note

Thanks to everyone who reviewed my last chapter and Favorited the story. I couldn't believe all the responses I got basically over night. You guys all get cookies!

Let me know if you liked this chapter, and how you felt about Heracles' POV. This time reviewers/commenters get some of Heracles' kitties!

Ch. 3 will be up shortly


	3. Tender Love and Care

The Beginning of Love and Hate

Ch.3

Sadiq's POV

God, I loved him. This new addition to his personality greatly intrigued me. How had I not seen this fiery side sooner? I was pretty shocked that he had the guts to stand up to me. Any other young nation would have just accepted that he was mine now and made the best of it. But it was plain to me that Greece would keep fighting me as soon as he was well again. I loved that. I loved that he didn't give in easily, it was a challenge. And ultimately when he did give in, it would make the victory all that much better.

For now though, he was mine. And he was in my arms. I was carrying him down to the bath house to get him cleaned up. It pained me to see him in such agony. I adjusted the position of how I was carrying him so that it might be more comfortable. I wasn't sure where it hurt the most though. I wish there was something I could do to ease his suffering. I hoped that the hot water would help his sore body relax. He was giving me a death glare at the moment. That just amused me. "Ah Heracles, you know, you just might like it here in my Empire, if you give it the chance." If you give me the chance. That was an after thought on my part. I truly hoped he would give me the chance; after all I was desperately in love with him.

Once again the glare. "Yeah right, I hate it here." He said angrily looking away.

"Well then, we'll just have to try to make it more comfortable for you, love. Tell me what you want and I shall fetch it. Do you want the moon? I'll get all my best astronomers on it. Do you want some of your friends? Then I'll go get them. Do you want all the cats in the world? I'll find a way to make it happen. Anything you want, little Heracles." I said with fervor. I wanted him to be happy here and I wanted him to be happy with me. I wanted him to love me.

"I want my freedom." he said bluntly.

I looked down at him sadly. "Why do you ask for the one thing in the world I can not give you?" This was painful for me. I wanted him happy, but also I wanted him. I would have to find some way to have it both ways.

"That's the only thing that will make me happy." Heracles said. "I want to go home, Sadiq." He looked up at me with his big brown eyes, they were pleading with me. It broke my heart but I could not let him go. Not after I had spent almost every night since I met him longing for him. Not after I had spent so much time planning and scheming to get him here.

I leaned in a planted a quick kiss on his lips. "You will learn to be happy, young one."

He made some crude remark about my mother and her procreation habits. I rolled my eyes. We had reached the bath houses now and I pushed away the silk curtain that covered the room entrance. The bath houses were something my country prided itself on. I had one all to myself. I brought him into the warm room. Normally I had my servants attend to the nations I conquered, but this was different, I would take care of him myself. I knew the bathing practices well enough that I could do it on my own.

The warm room was just as it sounded. Warm flowing air pumped through the room allowing one to cleanse their body through sweat. There were pools of warm water that you bathed in and stone tables meant for messages. I gently put Heracles down on one of these stone tables. I reached for his tunic and started to pull it off. But a hand came and shoved me away. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Heracles demanded. He had strained to reach up and shove me and he was balancing all his weight on one hand, which was shaking.

"Lay back down, that must hurt a lot." I said. "You can't go without your wounds treated. And I promise this will help the pain go away. You have to trust me."

"And how the hell am I supposed to do that? I did trust you, and YOU did this to me." He did lie back down though; his face was contorted in agony.

"You'd be surprised of how charming I can be when I want to." I said slyly with a half grin on my face. I peered down into those dark chocolate eyes and I felt like I would drown in them. "Besides why would I want to harm the object of my affection? I am only trying to help you feel better." I said honestly.

Heracles looked back up with me with suspicion in his eyes. "What exactly are you going to do?" he demanded

He was such a pushy little thing. "Just trust me; you have no other choice anyway. You can't stay in pain like this forever. I promise not to hurt you." I said gently. I clutched at his blood stained tunic and removed it as gently as I could off his injured body. I stripped myself because that was the practice at the bath houses. Poor Heracles, he looked absolutely terrified. He fists and jaw were clenched and his eyes were squeezed tight like he was about to face the most horrific torture ever devised by man kind.

I sighed heavily and moved over to a fountain fetch a large basin of warm water and a cloth. I also got an extra towel to put under his head. I brought the basin over to the message table. I started with Heracles' face, so I dipped the cloth into the warm water and I stood over him and helped him sit up slowly. I slipped in behind him so he would have some kind of support behind his back. I leaned around and gently wiped the dry blood off his face. He winced. "You need to tell me where it hurts the worse so I can be extra gentle." I told him. When I was done cleaning off his face he looked so much better. He didn't really have a lot of damage there, only a few cuts.

"My sides and my ankles and my arms and legs." he said.

As I reached down to dip the cloth in the water I caught a glimpse of the rest of his body. It was worse than I imagined. Half his body was covered in bruises and cuts. I felt sick; I couldn't believe that I had done this to him. No wonder he didn't trust me. I should have been more careful with him. "I'm so sorry." I said hanging my head. "I NEVER meant for you to get hurt." I said with a heavy sigh. Heracles didn't say anything. It looked like he had several broken ribs and his ankle was really swollen, it was probably sprained. And his arms and legs seemed to have gotten the worse of the bruising. I started wiping off the blood from his chest with the little towel. He winced over and over again. I tried to make my motions as light as a feather but even that seemed to bother him. As I cleaned away the blood from his body the worse he looked because the blood had covered some of the worse bruises and cuts. It was no wonder he hated me.

When I was done cleaning him up I scooped him up in my arms, and this time I knew exactly how not to hold him. I walked over to the warm pool of water and headed down the stone steps that lead into the water. There were seats around the sides of the pool but I wasn't sure if he could sit up. "Can you sit up?" I asked him.

"I think so." he said.

I walked over with him to the side and sat him down on the hard stone seat. He winced and his face contorted in pain. "Um, maybe not." I said as I picked him back up. I decided to just help him do a back float. He seemed to like that, his body relaxed for the first time since I brought him home. Not that he would ever tell me though. Heracles was a strange little thing; I just couldn't figure him out. I had no idea what was going on in that mind of his. But I imagined it had something to do with philosophy or cats, or both. I let him soak for awhile. Then I asked him. "Do you feel better?"

"No." he said stubbornly. I rolled my eyes. "But it does help." He finally admitted after a long pause. I would let him soak for awhile longer but after that I had to get those ribs wrapped soon otherwise they would just take longer to heal.

I eventually picked him back up. "I have to get your ribs wrapped." I told him. "It looks like 3 of them are broken. And your ankle needs to be wrapped as well, it's not broken but it's sprained." I got out of the pool carrying him. I wrapped him in a towel to dry off. I toweled him off as gently as I could but it seemed to really hurt him. When I was done with that I laid him back down on the message table. I went into a back room searching for something to splint his ribs with. I came up with small semi-flexible pieces of wood. I brought them out along with a basket of bandages and ointments that were supposed to help cuts heal.

I decided to start with the ointment. "This is going to sting." I told him as I started rubbing the stuff on to his wounds. He winced. It took longer than I had expected to treat all the cuts on his body but I was glad I had treated them first because there were a lot of cuts on his chest where I would have to wrap the bandages. I put the little pieces of wood parallel to each other on either side of each of the broken ribs. This would restrict movement which would help reduce the pain. And then I wrapped the bandages around his chest tightly to keep them in place and I wrapped his ankle in bandages.

Heracles seemed to have become sleepy from the heat of the room; he could hardly keep his eyes open as I carried him back to the room. It was probably better that he slept through the worst of the pain anyhow. I put him down on my bed when we got back to the room. He was pretty much asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. I pulled the covers over him and kissed his forehead. I hoped he would feel better when he woke up. I walked out of the room, I had things to do, like get a wardrobe for Heracles and set up his own bedroom. I had the distinct feeling he did not want to share a bed with me every night. That was fine, for now.

* * *

Author's Note:

Once again I want to thank everyone who reviewed/alerted/favorited, as promised you all get some of Heracles' kittys

I don't feel quite as comfortable writing in Sadiq's POV as I do in Heracles' POV, but I feel compelled to tell Sadiq's side. So I apologize if this isn't as good as the last chapter. But the good news is that Ch. 4 will be in Heracles' POV.

Let me know what you think of the new chapter, reviewers this time get Turkish delight. I love hearing back from my readers, and please feel free to be honest


	4. Hunger and Fear

The Beginning of Love and Hate

Chapter 4

Heracles' POV

I opened my eyes blearily. For a long moment I couldn't figure out where I was, the moment right after waking up was the worse because you have to come back to reality. I noticed that my body didn't hurt nearly as bad as it had before. I was able to sit up on my own; with some difficultly, but it was an improvement never the less. I felt at my sore ribs, Sadiq had done a good job splitting them. He had also placed my ankle on a pile of soft pillows to elevate it. I got up from the bed and tried walking a bit, it hurt, but it was definitely do-able. I went back to the bed to rest some more and to think. I didn't understand him, why would he try to help me recover when he knows I'm likely to fight him after wards? Even if right now I couldn't see winning that fight, if he had done this much damage without meaning to, how in the world I would ever be able to get away?

No matter how much better my body was I couldn't say the same thing about my emotional state. I wasn't exactly sure how long I had been here, but it was long enough to be torturous. I thought back to last night and almost died of embarrassment and shame. How could I possibly of let him touch all over like that? I felt sick to my stomach; this feeling seemed to be my new best friend. I had felt sick from the moment I was brought to this awful place. Everything was so god damn confusing. I couldn't understand Sadiq at all. What did he want from me? His actions and words made no sense with the mental picture I had of him. He was cruel, mean, sick and just plain horrible. It seemed impossible that he could be so gentle, I didn't want him to be, I wanted to hate him.

Sadiq walked into the room at that very moment distracting me away from my thoughts. I glared at him angrily. He chuckled which infuriated me even more. "You were just thinking about me weren't you?" he asked

That startled me. How had he known that I was thinking about him? "No." I said defiantly. "I was thinking about my cat."

"You're a horrible liar, Heracles." He said laughing. "So did you miss me?"

"Absolutely not." I said bitterly. "You're so conceded."

"Well that may be, but that doesn't mean you didn't miss me, I know you did." He teased and he reached down and rumpled my hair. I snarled at him. "Yes, yes, I know you're a big fierce kitten." I sent more death glares in his direction. "Anyway I thought you might be hungry." He said, he walked back into the hall and motioned for someone to come in.

Several people walked in the room with silver platters balanced on their hands. They all placed them on the table across the room from the bed and then filed out. I was intrigued; I hadn't realized just how hungry I was until that moment. Sadiq walked over to the platters and took off the lids. He wrinkled up his nose a bit. But I didn't, it smelled so good. "I think you should start with the soup." Sadiq said walking over to me with a platter in his hand. It was avgolemono soup, my favorite. It had chicken and lemons and eggs in it. I was too hungry to care how Sadiq had gotten this recipe. I reached out for the spoon and winced, my arms still really hurt. Sadiq had sat down next to me on the bed and he moved the bowl closer to me so I could get to it easier.

"Thanks." I grumbled. Picking up the spoon I started to eat ravenously. I plowed through the soup easily. Sadiq took a taste of the soup and his faced scrunched up in a gross 'Ew, what the hell is this' expression. That made me mentally chuckle. Greek food was an acquired taste. Sadiq was trying to drown out the taste with wine now, good luck with that. And then I stared longingly at the roasted lamb on the other side of the room, oh and the roasted potatoes and the Kokoretsi.

I started to try to get up to get over there but Sadiq's arm flew out in front of me and pushed me back. "Hold your horses. I'll get it. What do you want?" he up and heading to the table

"The lamb and potatoes and the Kokoretsi." I said.

Sadiq had figured out which dish the lamb and potatoes were and brought it over to me. My cats were flocking all around, I tried to give them as much as I could but there were so many of them. Meanwhile Sadiq was struggling to identify the Kokoretsi. "Heracles, what the hell is Co- Kor- etski?" he said murdering the pronunciation of the word.

"It's the liver dish." I told him. "It's kind of brownish black."

He had found the right platter and he brought it over. He looked at me with a disgusted look on his face. "How can you EAT this? It smells disgusting."

I shrugged. "It tastes good to me." Sadiq made a fake gagging noise. "Try the lamb; you'd probably like eating innocent slaughtered baby animals." Sadiq gave me a dirty look, but I didn't care I just went about eating my fill of the meal.

Sadiq wrapped his arm around my shoulder and I glowered at him. "Oh deal with it, Heracles. I may seem perfectly patient, but I assure you I am not." I was surprised he talked to me like that. I still scowled but I didn't make an attempt to shrug him off. "When you're done eating I have a surprise for you."

I wasn't sure I wanted to know what that was all about. I deliberately stopped eating so fast. Sadiq noticed and rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. At this point I was starting to feel really full but I kept eating anyway. "Can you go get the Galatoboureko?" I asked him.

Sadiq raised an eyebrow at me. "Oh now you're just messing with me. That is not a real dish. How the hell can you even pronounce that?"

I just looked up at him innocently. "Yes it is, it's a dessert. It's a pastry."

He stared at me suspiciously. "Seriously? That's what it is called? Gal-lo-to-boar-etko?"

I nodded. "Well sort of, you said it wrong."

He stared at me for a look moment as if trying to grasp some very difficult concept. "Why do your people name your food such unappetizing names? That just makes no sense."

I just shrugged. "That's always the way it's been. Anyway would you hand me the pastry? It's next to the moussaka." He stared at me like I had 7 heads like hydra. "Fine I'll get it." I started to try to get up but Sadiq stopped me by throwing me over his shoulder. I cringed in pain. God you would think he would be more careful, what with my 3 broken ribs and all! "What the hell, you bastard, let me GO!" I squealed.

He carried me out of the room in this manner. "Come on I'm anxious to show you your surprise, I put a lot of effort into it. If you're still hungry afterwards, I'll feed you some real food. He only carried me across the hall but it felt like I had crossed the sea and was back home. The room had been transformed into a room that could have easily passed in any Greek home. He sat me down on what I recognized as one of my chairs from my room at home, in fact all the furniture was exactly identical. I opened my mouth to ask where he had gotten it from. "Don't worry; these are just copies I had the furniture maker make from drawings I drew. All your stuff is still in Greece." He told me. That was a relief. What else that struck me were the beautiful paintings.

There were colorful paintings all over the floors, walls and ceiling. On the ceiling there was a painting of Hypnos the god of sleep, that was appropriate since it was a bedroom. Three of the walls depicted scenes of hundreds of cats laying around and playing and sleeping in a wonderful garden. It was beautiful. And on the one other wall right over my bed was a picture of Eros. I blushed red hot immediately. "Do you know who the god on this wall is?" I demanded.

"Yes, it's Eros, the god of love." He said innocently. I wasn't fooled though

"It's Eros alright, but that's not what he does." I said fiercely. I couldn't believe that of all the gods he could have put on the wall he had put Eros. "He's the god of lust. He makes people become insane with lust. He's a very bitter sweet god, yes he'll make you fall in love but he is very cruel about who sometimes. And he can make you go mad." I said angrily. "And putting him in a place of power in the bedroom will only make it worse! Especially over the bed! " Sadiq was grinning now and then I groaned. Oh I saw what he was doing well enough. I knew he would like Eros to shoot me in the heart and make me become madly in love with him. Eros was a beloved god in my nation; I couldn't believe he had the nerve to try to turn him against me. Oh no, but Eros wasn't that stupid, he NEVER did exactly what you wanted him to do, that was what was so tricky about him. "You really think you can turn one of my own gods against me?" I demanded.

He had a sly look on his face. "You never know what Eros will do."

I glared at him. Then there came a loud crash from behind us in the hallway. I turned around quickly to see what happened. A young slave boy had dropped a rather large vase. From the looks of it, it was a Grecian pot. The boy stared up in terror at Sadiq. "Master, I'm sorry." He squealed. "It was so heavy and large, and I couldn't get a good grip on it. I'm so sorry."

Sadiq looked absolutely enraged, he was livid. "Do you know how much that cost?" he demanded. He was scary like this; I instinctively shrunk away from him. And so did the young boy.

"Master, I'm sorry." he said eyes filled with terror.

Sadiq walked over to the boy and slapped him hard across the face. "Don't hurt him." I squealed.

"Shut up, Heracles." he said angrily. He slammed the door behind him and I could hear more shrieks and yelps coming from the poor boy. I felt horrible, I wanted to go help him, but I was afraid. I was so startled that Sadiq had reacted so violently over such a small thing. The noises from the hallway were growing louder and louder. The boy was crying and begging for Sadiq to stop. I got up from my chair and slowly limped my way over to the corner farthest from the door. I sat down and covered my ears; I didn't want to hear this. I was frightened. I really hadn't expected this, how could Sadiq be so awful to that poor boy? He could always have just bought a new vase; it wasn't like he was hurting for money. Maybe I should watch my step more carefully if he can over react so much so quickly. I definitely didn't want to be the one on the other side of that screaming.

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Author's Note:

Hey everyone, I apologize that this chapter took so long for me to write. I litterally sat down to write it at least a dozen times and nothing came out.

All those food names are real names of Greek dishes for anyone who cares. And for those who fear that there will be no more Sadiq chapters, don't worry there will be plenty more of both Sadiq and Heracles. I have big plans for this story.

Once again thank you so much to everyone who reviewed/favorited/alerted. You guys all rock and get turkish delight as promised. I love reviewers so please tell me what you thought of the chapter, this time you guys get Sadiq's mask.

Hopefully Chapter 5 won't take nearly as long to write, it'll be up as soon as it's done.

EDIT: Ok I went back and checked paragraph one and fixed it, so I massively fail for not seeing that eariler when I proofread. Anyway, thanks to Geekies for pointing it out to me. And to Jackidy, that's ok you can have some of Greece's oddly named food, which is actually quite tastey.


	5. Realizations

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Sadiq's POV

I was standing there in the hallway disgusted at what I had done. I stared down at the boy I had beaten nearly to death. I felt sick. I realized it was Attis, my personal slave. I felt horrible that I had done this to him. He looked so similar to Heracles it was uncanny. I knew he was Grecian; the slave traders had captured him and brought him here. He had told me his story before.

I didn't mean to snap at him, but I had been so frustrated with Heracles being so insufferable. I walked over to the boy and he cowered away from me. He covered his face fearing that I would hit him again. I wouldn't, I had gained self-control again. I gingerly picked him up and walked to the servant's quarters which were nearby and placed him on a bed. I had to find someone to take care of him.

As I turned to leave a small voice said. "I really am sorry master; I didn't mean to break it."

I sighed heavily. "I know, Attis. I'm sorry I lost my temper. Rest, I'll go get someone to take care of you."

"Thank you, master." he said.

I walked out of the room closing the door behind me. I couldn't believe that he was thanking me for getting help when it was my fault he was in this condition. I didn't know how to justify this; it wasn't like I was extremely attached to that vase. But it was supposed to be a gift for Heracles. I had searched high and low for that vase. It was in the typical Grecian style but it had a black cat painted on it. I sighed. I bumped into another slave boy who seemed busy doing something. I cleared my throat and he looked up at me curiously. "Yes, Master?"

"Attis is injured; I brought him to the slave quarters. You will go tend to him immediately." I said curtly.

"Yes, master." And with that he left, hurrying in the opposite direction.

I headed back to the room where I had left Heracles. This must have rattled him a great deal; he had never seen me lose my temper like that. I had to admit I was getting really sick of his attitude. I was doing everything in my power to make him happy and nothing was good enough. I thought his new bedroom was perfect, but of course he found something to complain about. He needed to learn to be grateful; I was being very kind to him. He didn't know just how lucky he was. Because I wanted him, so much it was so hard to control myself. All that time when I had been bathing him my mind was wild with lust. I had to keep remembering that he was still injured and sex would just make that worse. God, he was lucky I loved him; otherwise I would have taken him the first night he came here. I sighed heavily.

I quickly ran outside and splashed my face in the fountain, wiping the blood off my hands and face. I headed back to Heracles' room. I opened the door and looked into the room for a moment confused. Where was he? But then I spotted him hiding in the corner. I wiped my face with my sleeve and walked over to the corner and crouched down. Heracles was trying to get away from me, but he was trapped in the little corner. He had real fear in his eyes. "Hey." I said pushing a strand of hair behind his ear. He flinched as my hand came out. "Hey, it's ok. I'm not mad at you, I won't hurt you." I said, wrapping my arms around him in a hug. He was shaking. Now I really regretted losing my self control, I didn't want him to be terrified of me. I figured it would shake him up, but I didn't think it would be this bad.

But then he said something I hadn't expected. "Why did you have to do that, you bastard?" Heracles demanded pushing against my chest to be let go of. I was slightly shocked. "It's not like you couldn't just buy another vase, it wasn't exactly worth beating the poor kid up over. It was an accident." he said angrily. Maybe he wasn't as quite scared as I thought.

I wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, especially since I didn't know myself. I decided to make something up. "He'll be sure not to break any more vases now." I said kind of harshly. "He screwed up and had to pay the consequences." That was the best argument I could come up with.

"Well, the consequences were awfully harsh." Heracles said back. "That was such an absurd overreaction." he said like he was on the same level as me.

That kind of made me pissed off. It was so disrespectful for a little boy to criticize an adult like that. He may be mature for his age but that didn't give him the right to talk to me like that. "I don't expect a child like you to understand an adult's reasoning." If he was any other person I would have slapped him. "And you really should mind your elders, Heracles." I said angrily. "Do not talk to me like that ever again."

He glared at me. "I'll talk to you how ever I please."

Oh now he was just asking for it. I really didn't want to hurt him, but he was just being so infuriating. I tried hard to get a grip on myself. "You are trying my patience, Heracles." I told him as a warning. "You just heard what I'm capable of when I'm angry. You would be wise to hold your tongue."

That seemed to work because he didn't say anything, but that didn't stop the death glares. I wondered if they would ever stop. I wish they would, I didn't want to fight with him anymore. I hated fighting with him. He was just so difficult to deal with though. I got up and walked slowly to the other side of the room, and sat down on the couch.

It was really beginning to frustrate me. I was doing everything I could think of to make him happy here. I had all his cats shipped over here, I didn't even like cats, and now everywhere I went I had to worry about stepping on one. I made all my chefs learn how to cook that gross Greek food. I had spent a long time tracking down someone who knew what kind of furniture and room design he would like; I was trying to be kind to him. And yet I was still met with such resistance. Heracles had no idea how good he had it. There were so many things I could do to him; that I wanted to do to him. But yet I controlled all my whims. I was getting so sick of denying myself something that was mine. Because whether or not he liked it, Heracles was mine. All mine. And I could do what I pleased with him, and if he didn't give in soon I would. And yet that wasn't enough; I wanted him to want to be mine. Maybe that was crazy. I put my head in hands. I was trying so damn hard, and he didn't care at all. All he could see was my flaws, and that wasn't fair.

It hurt that he just loathed me, because I loved him. And I knew under that wall of protection there was a sweet and caring person. It drove me crazy that he had put the wall up, I could tolerate both sides, but I definitely fell in love with the other side that he was denying me now. I would watch the way he was with his cats and that wall would come down, he was so sweet, gentle, and playful with them. I wondered if he would ever get rid of that wall for me. I doubted it. Maybe I should try a different approach.

What exactly did he know about me? Not a whole lot, all he knew right now was that I was some big bad enemy guy who kidnapped him. And maybe that was the problem; he couldn't see anything good about me because I hadn't really shown him. Sure I had lavished him with gifts, but that's not enough to make someone like you. It's a start but it's not going to do the work for you. I had to show him what was good about me. And I had just made a huge mistake by showing him my aggressive side. Why the hell couldn't I control myself? Now I had just reinforced that I was a jerk in his mind.

I knew he liked music and plays and my country had a rich culture of that sort of thing. This would be a good start to making him see that I'm not all bad. And on the way I decided to get him fitted for some new clothes. The ones I had put him in after the bath were way too big for him. But it was the best I could do; they had been some of Gupta's clothes. And I couldn't exactly dress him in his old blood stained tunic. I looked over to him; he was still sitting in the corner glaring at me. "Come on, we're going out." I told him getting up from the couch.

He stared at me blankly for a long moment. "I don't want to. I don't feel well and I can hardly walk." He complained.

I hadn't thought about that. Of course his sprained ankle would be a problem. "You can ride on my shoulders then. You'll enjoy this, come on."

"Where are we going?" he asked suspiciously

"To town, we need to get you some new clothes, those won't do, and there is something else I want to show you, I think you'll like it." I said crouching down and turning around so that my back faced him. "Climb on."

He scrambled onto my back and I hoisted him up onto my shoulders and he clutched at my head to hold on. I stood up slowly so he wouldn't lose his balance and I held tight to his ankles so he wouldn't fall, being extra careful with the injured one. He hardly weighed anything.

My home was located in the middle of the busy city of Constantinople, the center of the Mediterranean world. We had to walk through my large palace to get to the exit. Even while we were still inside I could feel his head swiveling right and left to take in everything. I knew later when I left him alone he would go exploring. We made our way out into the bright light of the city. The city was bursting with life and energy. I only lived a few minutes walk away from the busiest shopping area. You could buy everything you could possible imagine here, from every foreign land out there. "I've never seen anything like this." That came from Heracles. I started walking towards the market.

"You have large cities like this at home, do you not?" I asked. I couldn't see his face but I could just imagine his large brown eyes wide with excitement

He nodded. "Yes, but they're nothing like this. This is…different."

"Yes, it is quite different." I agreed with him. His curiosity seemed to over rule his anger at me right now. I liked that, I would have to make him curious more often.

"What's that?" Heracles asked.

He was pointing towards a large golden domed building. "That's the Hagia Sophia. It's a church, where we keep documents and ancient scrolls. It is one of the most beautiful buildings on earth. Wait until you see the inside, you will adore it, the art is spectacular. It's right up your alley."

"When will we go see it?" he asked me.

I laughed. "As soon as you want, but not right now, we have things to do." I told him. It was important that we get him properly fitted with some new clothes; I couldn't have him walking about like some hooligan in over sized clothes. That would just reflect terribly on him and me by proxy. I wouldn't insist on my style of dress, which was much too fancy for someone who was used to a toga or tunic. I wanted him to feel comfortable. And it wasn't completely unacceptable to wear tunics in fashion, although people who tended to wear them weren't very wealthy. So I would have to insist that Heracles' new clothing was as fancy as his particular style would allow.

"So where are you taking me?" Heracles asked.

"Right here." I told him. We had reached the shop I had been looking for. It was a little bit outside the main shopping area, I wanted to keep that a surprise for later. That would be real shock to him. I helped Heracles down from my shoulders and ushered him inside the colorful shop. There were fabrics in every color and texture you could imagine, coming from every different parts of the world. Delicate silks from Asia, soft wool from Europe, fine lightweight wool from Italy, and everything else you could possibly want. It was my favorite clothing store; it was fit for a king, or a prince in Heracles' case.

* * *

Author's Notes:

Hey everyone, I'm sorry this chapter took so long. But here it is at long last.

So as promised reviewers/favoriters/ alerters all get Sadiq masks. And this time you guys get cool Turkish outfits designed by Sadiq! (I know it's lame but I'm running out things to give you guys)

So random little facts, I made a mistake in the first chapter, Sadiq at this point wouldn't be called the Ottoman Empire, that doesn't come until much later on when the Ottomans invaded the Byzantine empire. And this story takes place before it was even called the Byzantine empire, it was called The Eastern Roman Empire for awhile after Rome fell. Apparrently the Greeks and the Turkish have been connected together for practically forever. So we'll just say that after Rome fell, Mother Greece died and Sadiq went to claim Heracles. Heracles' didn't know Sadiq, but his mother did. And when Greece and Turkey re-joined people started calling it the Byzantine empire.

Other random cute fact:

Attis means handsome boy in Greek.

I hope you guys like this chapter, I worked really hard on it. Please let me know what you think!

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	6. Into Constantinople

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Heracles' POV

Sadiq was making the biggest fuss about clothes I had ever seen. He was insisting that everything be made of silk, which I hated the feel of. I just wanted what I was used to.

"Why don't you want your clothes to be nice," Sadiq demanded

"Because I hate silk, it feels weird and I'd rather just wear wool or cotton," I said. Honestly I couldn't care less about my clothes except that I hated silk. It felt so unnatural.

"That is nonsense; I've never met a person who didn't like silk. Besides you liked it a few weeks ago when I gave it to you as a present," Sadiq was clearly getting annoyed now.

"Yeah well, that was before I found out what a bastard you are," I snarled. I was well aware of my irrationality, but being stubborn was what I was best at. I should just let him get me whatever, but I hated silk so much because he had given it to me.

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"I don't want silk. I don't like it, why can't you get that through your thick skull! I just want wool."

"But it's not proper," He was getting angry. "I can't have you running around in clothes that some poor beggar child would wear."

"It's what my people wear, I don't give a damn what your people think is acceptable," I said stubbornly. "Besides who the hell is going to care what I'm wearing?"

Sadiq sighed. I could tell he knew that he wasn't going to win this battle. "Fine, you can get your tunics made of wool and cotton, but I'm still buying you some acceptable clothes for special occasions,"

There was a young pretty girl who was standing the corner looking amused. She was waiting for us to stop fighting. And when Sadiq finally relented she came bustling over with all the different options of colors and designs offered in Cotton and light weight wool. "What colors do you want?" she asked

"White," I said.

Sadiq looked at me like I was crazy. "No, we'll take two orange, one yellow, two red, one green, and one blue."

"And four white, in cotton." I added. I wasn't going to let him get away with not getting any white. Let him order all those fancy colors, it didn't mean I was going to ever wear them. The woman looked at Sadiq for approval and he nodded his head.

"Make one of the oranges and reds silk," Sadiq told the woman.

The woman nodded and wrote it down. "What kind of design do you want for them?" she asked.

I didn't care about that, so let Sadiq decide. It didn't matter to me. He looked over at me as he made his choices. I think he was expecting another battle. I didn't feel the need to argue with him about this particular detail. That made him looked pleased. I rolled my eyes.

The woman spent a long time taking measurements for the clothing. I had to stay still for a very long time and my ankle was starting to hurt. I was wondering what this so called surprise was that Sadiq wanted to show me. Knowing him he would take me to some weird two headed goat show or something. And if he did, I wanted no part of that.

The woman finally finished up with the measuring and started to write something on the paper. I flopped down on the floor, that was all my ankle could take for now. Sadiq gave me a quizzical look, but I ignored him. I started to rub my ankle in an attempt to make it less painful. It wasn't really working though. The woman looked up and started to talk to Sadiq about the price. Sadiq just nodded and handed over a large pouch of coins to her. "Please put a rush on this order," Sadiq said. "And keep the change."

The woman nodded. "It will take about a week."

Sadiq sighed but smiled and said, "Very well then. Thank you for your services." I could tell he was disappointed that the clothes wouldn't be in sooner.

She gave a small bow and hurried off into a back room. "Come on, kitten." Sadiq walked over to me and gave me a helping hand up. Sadiq walked out of the store and I followed him limping.

I gave him a dirty look. "Don't call me that," I growled.

"Why not? You seem to resemble a cat in every way, shape, and form," He said crouching down so I could scramble onto his back. My ankle was hurting and I was too relieved to get the pressure off it. I climbed on and Sadiq reached back and hoisted me onto his shoulders. He stood up slowly.

Once I felt secure and stabilized I said. "Because I don't like it."

"Well, that's not a very good reason, kitten."

I gave a snarl of disapproval. "Don't call me that! I am not your kitten!"

"Yes you are," Sadiq replied simply. "Besides, what do you care? It's just a pet name."

I grumbled a few curses under my breath in Greek at him. "I heard that, and I know what it meant," Sadiq said annoyed.

I glared angrily away. As I turned my head away, I started to really notice my environment. Sadiq and I were walking down a long road that had stall after stall of amazing things. We passed a stall where a man was hand carving a fine wooden chair. The already finished furniture was on display for sale, it was very beautiful. And next to his stall was a woman selling beautiful jewelry. The style of the jewelry reminded me of the Greek style, some of the pieces looked like the jewelry my mother used to wear. Sadiq turned left and ahead of us there was a large painted sign that said, 'Grand Bazaar'

We passed under the sign and my jaw dropped, I was amazed at what I saw ahead of us. I had never seen anything quite like this. It was a sensory overload. Everywhere there were stunningly bright colors and I could hear thousands of people chattering, and music filling the air, and the smell coming from the food stalls was overwhelming. Everything smelt so good, it was hard to separate the individual smells. There were rows after rows of stalls, all selling unique goods. Sadiq had stopped moving so I could soak it all in.

I watched as people scurried around us, going about their daily business. They all wore such bright colors. Many of them were very decadent with jewels sown into the cloth. Even their slippers were covered in jewels. I was so accustomed to the plain white tunics and dresses my people wore that it was disorienting to see people walking around in all these different colors. It wasn't that my people didn't deck out their outfits, it was just they always wore jewels on their bodies, not their clothes.

"So what do you think?" Sadiq asked me as he carried me along the road.

I really didn't know what to say to that. I still couldn't wrap my mind around the vast largeness of the shopping area. "It's big, and overwhelming."

Sadiq chuckled. "You'll get used to it."

I highly doubted that. We started walking down the first aisle of stalls. It was fascinating to look at all the interesting things for sale. Sadiq veered off to the right at the end of the aisle and we turned down another long row of stalls. It wasn't nearly as busy down this aisle. He seemed to know exactly where he was going. He stopped halfway down the row and went to a stall that was selling blue beads. Sadiq let me down from his shoulders and I stood next to him examining the beads laid out on a cloth.

They were strange looking things; they looked like eyes. They were dark blue with a light blue ring inlayed in the center, with a black color inside that. They sort of gave me the creeps. I looked up at Sadiq, who was studying a silver chained necklace with a single bead on it. He held it up to my neck, apparently trying to decide if he would like how it would look on me. He seemed satisfied with it and he turned to the shopkeeper who was watching us.

"What is the cost of this necklace?" Sadiq asked.

The shop keeper seemed to know that Sadiq was a powerful person in the nation. "For you, Sadiq, it is free, it is an honor for you to pick my goods."

Sadiq shook his head. "I must pay you something. I don't feel comfortable taking it for free."

"Ah, well then, let's say it is five silver coins. But I must tell you, that if you are buying that for the boy, it is meant for a female."

Sadiq looked at him with a curious expression on his face. He turned to look at me and held the necklace back up to my neck, and then shrugged. "It does not matter, it looks good on him." Sadiq reached into his pocket and pulled out the five coins and handed it to the man. He nodded and thanked Sadiq for his business.

My face flushed bright red. I couldn't believe he bought me a necklace that was meant for a girl, especially such an ugly one at that. Sadiq grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the side where he put the necklace around my neck. "It's called a Nazar Bonjuk," he told me. "It will protect you from evil spells. The eye looks at the spell caster and it tells them that it knows what you're up to. I have to keep you protected from my enemies." Sadiq said and he kissed me lightly.

It was strangely sweet of him. I knew I should be angry at him for thinking that I'm some damsel in distress that needs protecting, but I couldn't bring myself to be for some strange reason. What did that say about me? Was I going soft for him? That was such a weird thought. I didn't like him and yet I was beginning to have these other feeling for him. I shook my head trying to clear my mind of these strange thoughts. 'You hate him Heracles,' I mentally told myself. 'And don't forget it.'

Sadiq pulled me out of my thoughts by lifting me easily onto his shoulders again. "Was that the surprise?" I asked him. If it was, it was a pretty lame surprise.

"No kitten, that's next." I could hear a smile in his voice.

I rolled my eyes at the 'kitten' part, but I didn't say anything. We started off again down the long aisle. We seemed to be going awfully fast; it was plain that Sadiq was no stranger to this place. As we walked down each row, vendors called out to him look at their goods. Sadiq smiled and waved to each of them, calling back. "Ah, maybe some other time, I'm very busy today."

"How do they know who you are?" I asked him as a third or fourth vendor called out to him.

"I get to know my people," he said simply

"So do I, but they don't know me by sight."

Sadiq shrugged accidentally and almost sent me tumbling off his shoulders. But luckily he grasped my ankles just in time. "Sorry." he said.

"Geez, be more careful," I muttered darkly. A familiar aroma filled my nostrils. I sighed. It was one of my favorite smells. I hoped that was where we were heading. "It smells good," I said with a small sigh.

"Well, I'm glad you think so, that's where we're stopping. It's my favorite coffee shop." You could hear the smile in his voice.

It didn't take long for us to reach the small shop. Sadiq placed me down on the ground and he ushered me into the shop. "Come on, we're going to be late."

The small shop consisted of pillows scattered in a circle around the room. It wasn't very large, and there were only a few people in the room. "Go get a seat," Sadiq told me. "I'll go get us drinks."

I walked over to two large fluffy cushions and sat down on one of them. A man walked into the center of the circle and the other people in the room started to applaud him. I was confused as to why they were clapping. I just sat there, staring at the others. The applause ended quickly when the man in the middle gave them a motion to stop.

Then he spoke. "Son of him who led our hosts at Troy of old, son of Agamemnon!- now thou mayest behold with thine eyes all that thy soul hath desired so long. There is the ancient Argos of thy yearning,- that hallowed scene whence the gadfly drove the daughter of Inachus; and there, Orestes, is the Lycean Agora, named from the wolf-slaying god; there, on the left, Hera's famous temple; and in this place to which we have come, deem that thou seest Mycenae rich in gold, with the house of the Pelopidae there, so often stained with bloodshed; whence I carried thee of yore, from the slaying of thy father, as thy kinswoman, thy sister, charged me; and saved thee, and reared thee up to manhood, to be the avenger of thy murdered sire."

I would know that play anywhere. It was Electra by Sophocles, my favorite play. My mother used to read it to me when I was younger. How had Sadiq known? And how had he arranged this so quickly. And how had he gotten his hands on a copy of the show?

The man started to speak in a higher more feminine voice now. I could see what he was doing. It was a one man show, and quite a brilliant one at that. Sadiq walked over to me holding two large cups of coffee. He sat down on the cushion, beside me and handed over my cup. I blew on it gently, trying to cool it down. And leaned over and whispered, "How did you know this was my favorite play?"

"It was your mother's favorite, as well," Sadiq answered taking a long sip from his cup.

"You knew my mother?"

Sadiq nodded. "We'll talk after the show. It's rude to the performer, Heracles," Sadiq said making a little sshh-ing noise at the same time.

I sat back and watched as the performer went through multiple emotions in one scene. One second he was crying, the next he was livid and the next he was terrified. I knew the story well, well enough that I could mouth the words along with the actor word for word. It reminded me of when my mother used to read me the play when I was younger. She would act out the different voices, just like the actor was doing on stage.

I remembered lying in bed as a very young child and my mother was sitting beside me. "Well know I that, too well, I, whose life is a torrent of woes dread and dark, a torrent that surges through all the months!"

"Mommy, what's going on?" I half whined.

She sighed and ran her fingers through my hair. "A family friend just came and told Electra and her mom that her brother just died. And Electra is very upset about it," she explained patiently.

My mother always had been patient with me. She had to be, she was teaching me things that were way over my head. She must have known her time was short, and that's why she taught me things that were much too heavy for a two year old to be learning.

I watched as the man proceeded further and further into the complicated plot twists. Taking a sip of coffee and more memories flooded back to me. I had been very young when my mother had given me my first cup of coffee. It was a tradition to leave the coffee grounds in the cup, because you could read your fortune in them. As I finished drinking, I turned over the cup on the saucer and my mother pulled it over.

"Ah, Heracles, what a strange reading," she told me. She looked sad; I didn't understand at the time the significance of the reading, but I did now. "You have a claw," she told me. "It means an enemy, and also there is a chain which means union or marriage. But here's an ant," she said turning the cup. "It means perseverance. You will probably be around along time, my son, with this reading. Oh, but here's a mask, it means deception. And a dirty snake, Heracles, which means hatred and an enemy. And a Yoke and that means being dominated." She looked at me very concerned for a long moment and then pulled me into her lap and wrapped her arms around me. "But on the bright side here's a squirrel. It means prosperity after a hard time."

I sighed heavily pulling myself back to reality. I really hoped my squirrel would show up soon. Sadiq wrapped his arms around my shoulder, pulling my body closer to his. I was about to shove him off me, but then decided not to. I didn't want to anger Sadiq, so I would bear it.

My mind could not stay focused on the show no matter how hard I tried. I let it wander. I thought about home, and how every thing this time of year was beautiful. I thought about the bustling city of Athens and how the Olympics would be held soon. And the other festivals would start soon too. But I knew my people were not in a cheery mood, and neither was I. I just wanted to go home. Things may be dazzling here, but nothing can compare to the rocky hills of Greece.

And then suddenly I was jerked out of my daydream by Sadiq standing up and clapping. There was no way I could have let my mind drift through the entire show. The I realized the performer was only doing the first act today. "What did you think?" Sadiq asked me sitting back down

"He did a very good job," I said bored.

"I thought so too," he said. Sadiq turned his cushion so he was facing me. And then he said to me very seriously, "So, you wanted to talk about your mother."

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Author's Note:

Hey everyone, I know this chapters took an ungodly long time to get done but, I have a surprise for you guys. Next time i upload a new chapter, you'll get two for the price of one! (chapter 8 is already written.)

So thank you so much to reviewers/alerters/and favoriters you all rock! As promised turkish clothes all of you. Next time it's Nazar Bonjuks.

If you're interested in seeing what they look like pm me and I'll send you a link to an interesting webpage about them. I tried to put a link up here, but it wouldn't let me

I know that this chapter was a bit dull, but it was necessary. Anyway please let me know what you guys think.


	7. Of Love and Prison

Sadiq POV

Heracles nodded. There was so much to tell him. So many things I had never told anyone, but suddenly I felt the need to share it all with Heracles. "The thing you have to remember is that I am a very old nation. I can't really recall much of my childhood, but certain things stick out more than others. And your mother sticks out the most," I told him.

"At some point, I was taken in by Ancient Egypt. She wasn't much older than me; I was a little bit older than you are now, back then. But she seemed much more mature for her age than she should be. Her best friend was your mother, so she was always hanging around our home. She was always such a pretty and delicate thing," I told him fondly, thinking back to those days when life was much simpler. Before Rome, everything was just easier.

"Your mother and Cleopatra, and I became very close friends. We were nearly inseparable. Life was easy back then, or so it seems looking back. But at the time I didn't think it was easy at all. Athena, your mother, was the nearest thing to a goddess I had ever seen. I quickly developed a 'crush'. But it was more than just a crush; I knew she felt the same way about me. The way she would look at me, I could just tell."

"But I was shy and young. I didn't know what to do with or about my feelings. Cleopatra was always very aloof and often your mother and myself alone together when she had business to attend to. We would spend our days by the ocean just talking the day away. Your mother was the most intelligent person I have ever met in all my long existence." I gave a long sigh. "If only things had stayed the same, everything would have been so different. We were meant for each other in every possible way. I loved her so much."

The old agony of my memories flooded through me. I could remember the time we first kissed. We had been sitting in the oasis that surrounded Cleopatra's home. The moon shone brightly overhead and the stars were dazzling. Our backs leaned against the palm trees and we were stared up at the sky just amazed by the vastness of it all.

"Where do you think we go when we die?" Athena had asked me.

That had been her thing. She had loved to have deep, meaningful conversations. But I wasn't very good at it- not in comparison to her. "Don't worry about it. We can live forever," I told her. "Just look at Cleo. She's been around forever."

Athena sighed. "None of us live forever, Sadiq. We all have to die sometime."

I stared at her for a very long moment. She was so beautiful lit only by the starlight. Her long brown hair cascaded down her shoulders and those green eyes that could see through your soul were staring intently at me, searching for something in my expression. "Well, for now, neither of us is dying," I told her. I was very young and knew nothing of death. Nor did I care to think about it.

She smiled. I loved it when she smiled, it made her look even more exquisite "I guess so. I just always wonder." Her body shifted closer to mine so we were pressed close to each other. My arm awkwardly wrapped itself around her shoulders.

We sat there for a long time. Athena was making herself even more comfortable by draping the rest of her body against my body. She was making her intentions very clear, but I was still nervous and didn't know how to make the first move. I breathed in her scent and it made me slightly light headed. Her green eyes were stared up at me. I couldn't stop looking at those pink, soft, delicate lips.

My hands moved her so that she was sitting in my lap. Those eyes still were digging into my soul, and those lips looked so soft. It was like she knew everything about me, and there was no fooling her. She wrapped her arms around my neck and she slowly moved in towards me. I eagerly met her in the middle. As our lips met, sparks seemed to have exploded around us. It wasn't awkward like first kisses usually are, but it was perfect. Perfect, it was the perfect moment, the perfect girl, and a perfect love.

When I came back to the present, my heart nearly broke all over again. I missed her; she was everything I had ever wanted and more than I had thought to ask for. But all of it was destroyed when that bastard Rome entered the picture. He had stolen her away from me. He had mesmerized her with false promises of love, art, beauty and power. He had been picturesque in his battle armor, and he was strong and handsome. I didn't stand a chance against him. He was a man and I was still a young boy. If it wasn't bad enough he had stole Athena away from me, he captured me and brought me to his house in Italy.

Heracles looks so much like his mother. If he had longer hair he could have easily passed for her; except his nose was a little different. It was the one thing he had gotten from his bastard of a father. He acts so much like her too, even his mannerisms are similar. But she was never quite as feisty as he was. I imagine what he would have looked like if he was my son. Probably very similar only with darker features, like mine. I could mentally picture our small family walking down the beach holding hands. But that's not what had happened and it never would _be_ no matter how much I wanted it to be true. But in some strange way I was glad he didn't have my features. They probably would have ruined his otherwise perfect face. It was better that he looked like his mother; I loved him all the more because of it. I was especially glad he didn't look like Rome.

He was staring at me, waiting for me to say something. "Everything would have been so different if that bastard Rome hadn't come around and ruined everything," I told him. "We all knew about him, and we all knew that he was gaining power quickly. We knew he was invading country after country. But we were young, very young and we didn't think that it could happen to us. We thought we were invincible; we were at that point the most powerful countries in the world. Cleopatra did express concern, but we just didn't listen to her. And Rome did attack but not in the way any of us expected."

I began telling Heracles the story. "The Roman bastard had been hanging around our house for awhile before any of this happened. I had gone into town to buy Athena some flowers and when I returned I saw her sitting under _our_ tree, kissing that bastard Rome. I threw the flowers down in rage. 'Athena, how could you?!' I yelled, tears already forming in my eyes."

"She looked up startled, those eyes staring at me. 'Sadiq, it's not what it looks like,' She said softly."

"'It is exactly what it looks like. How could you? I love you!' I sobbed."

"But then that bastard Rome decided it was time to step in. 'Hey buddy, she's clearly made her choice. Get lost.' He growled, putting an arm around Athena, around _my_ Athena."

"'You've got some nerve you asshole,' I snarled getting closer. 'I know what you're like. I will not let you make Athena your _whore_. I know all about you. You go from girl to girl making them fall in love with you, only to fall in love with yet another girl a week later.' I turned to Athena. 'He'll take everything from you! Everything Athena. He'll take all your culture and claim it as his own. I've seen it before. We both have.' I was begging her to see reason. Rome was not someone you wanted to associate with. He was a bully."

"The Roman bastard stood up, glowering, making an advance on me. Athena stood up and pushed against his chest. 'No, please don't, he's just upset,' She pleaded. 'He doesn't know what he's saying.' "

"He was still glowering at me. And I glared right back at him. I didn't care. I'd rather die trying to protect what was mine then let that bastard take her away. Athena was stilling begging the Roman to walk away. 'Come on, let's go, we'll go back to your house,' She said feebly pushing on his chest."

"He looked down at her for a long moment and then silently nodded. They both turned their backs to me. 'No Athena, don't do this,' I sobbed. 'Please.'"

"She turned around and gave me a long sad, almost pleading look and mouthed the words. 'I'm sorry.' And then she turned back around and walked away. That look she gave me haunts me to this day."

"I crumpled onto the sandy desert ground. My chest felt like it would split in two from the pain. I was so heart broken. I was so in love with her. How could she betray me like this? I was hurt and confused. How could she have chosen him, over me? We had so much history, so much love, so much potential. He must have brain washed her. It was the only explanation there could be. I lay there sobbing for a very long time before Cleopatra came to find me."

"'Sadiq, what's wrong?' she asked me gently. She got down to my level and pulled me into her arms.

"'She….He…..left,' was all I managed to say."

"'What?'"

"'She left with the Roman,' I sobbed hysterically."

"Cleopatra looked down at me sadly. 'Oh, I'm so sorry, Sadiq.'"

"That had been the worst day of my life by far. I didn't leave my room for a long time after the night Athena left. I was plotting; I had to find a way to bring her back to me. I loved her too much to just let her go. But I had no idea how I could possibly go up against the Roman army. Unfortunately I hadn't been able arrange anything before the Roman showed up again."

"I remember waking up to a loud scream. It was Cleopatra; she was calling out to me, to help her. I grabbed my dagger and quickly ran down the long hall. The Roman bastard had Cleopatra slung over one shoulder. I charged into the room, dagger in hand. 'Let her go!' I yelled. 'I'm not going to let you take her too!'"

"The Roman rolled his eyes. 'I'd like to see you try.'"

"I ran at him and I attempted to stab him but the Roman was too quick. As I went to plunge in the dagger he grabbed my wrist, disarmed me, and twisted my arm behind my back roughly. He grabbed me by my waist and flung me over his other shoulder.

"I can't remember the rest of the trip, but I do remember being thrown into a very small dark room. The floor and walls were made of stones and the door was made of a very heavy wood. There was a single small slit in the door with bars on it that allowed a single sliver of light to come into the room. There was a single chamber pot in the room and a pile of hay to sleep on. We were captured at the beginning of Rome's power trip and this would be my prison for the next six hundred years."

"For the first couple of years I remained some what sane. Your mother would come visit me. She and Cleopatra, well, although they seemed to have more freedom than me, it was as if they too were prisoners of this barbaric country. Anyway, Athena would come down to my cell and talk to me through the small hole in the door. She was always crying about how Rome would beat her. She always seemed to have black and blue marks around her eyes. She had realized much too late that she had made the biggest mistake of her life."

"Rome hated me; he saw me as a threat because Athena and I were friends. And god forbid she have any friends that were male. Because of that, he beat me- a lot. Almost everyday she came to visit.. Whenever Athena showed up at my door I dreaded what would come later. It got to the point that I would beg her not to come any more. I couldn't stand it. And I was in emotional pain too. She had denied me to be with this monster, and she expected me to be sympathetic towards her. But some days I just couldn't muster any sympathy for her at all. She had done this to herself I had warned her; I begged and pleaded with her not to do this, but she didn't listen.

"She was the reason I was here, and she was the reason I was beaten to a pulp every day. And I wasn't the only one suffering because of her actions, I knew Cleopatra was too. Not to mention all the others that were thrown into prison cells like mine because Rome was getting power hungry and was attacking everyone in sight. He always did imprison the boys and men. I would see them every time the guards pulled me out of that cage to be beaten again. And I would see fearful eyes peering out of those small slits that adorned every door."

"After awhile I refused to talk to Athena. I was hurt and confused and wanted nothing to do with her. Eventually, after a long time, she stopped coming down to see me and the beatings everyday stopped. Cleopatra still came to see me though; I knew Athena was sending her to see me. I would still talk to her because the Roman bastard didn't seem to care if I talked to Cleo."

"After about fifty years, I began to grow more or less catatonic. I refused to eat or drink, speak to anyone, or even move. I was living in my head and refusing to come out and face the harsh reality of my situation. There was no hope of escaping and I could easily escape in my own mind. I was simply hoping to die, but that bastard Rome wouldn't even let me do that. He started to send Athena down to force feed me everyday. I just retreated further into my own head when that happened."

"Everyone must have thought I was a lost cause because sometimes I was aware of Athena and Cleopatra arguing with Rome outside my cell. They were both saying that it was just cruel to keep me alive like this. Rome didn't care, he said I was too valuable of an asset to let die. I didn't even care enough to listen; I just retreated back into my mind again. I was safe there and so was Athena, she was with me there. I never really stopped loving her even after all those years."

"After a very, very long time, I began to come back to myself. I was aware of a drastic change in the atmosphere. It was very noisy and people were laughing and sounded happy, nobody ever laughed down here. When I finally opened my eyes I saw Athena standing over me calling my name."

"'Sadiq, come on, snap out of it. Rome is dead. Come out of yourself, you're free.' She told me. Free. At this point I didn't even remember what it even meant to be _free_."

"I couldn't even remember how to use my voice. I couldn't remember how to move. It took me a long moment to remember how to make my voice box work. I let out a small grunt to let her know I was there with her. She beamed a happy smile down at me. 'There you are. So nice to see finally see you back with us,' She said with a small laugh."

"For a long time after that I didn't know what to do with myself. I was free to do whatever I wanted. That was a strange concept after spending so long imprisoned. Athena helped me get home and it was so good to feel the sun on my skin again. I was shocked when I saw my reflection of the first time in the water. When I had been captured I looked like I was ten years old and now I looked like I was in my early thirties. Athena told me the reason Rome was dead was because she and Cleo had finally rebelled against him and his corruption. She told me that they and a couple other female nations had killed him."

"And your mother was sick, really, really sick. And so were Cleopatra, and all the other nations who had helped killed Rome. They were all dying. They gave their lives so the world could be free from the Roman tyrant. But Athena never told me that she had a son, I'm sure it was because she didn't want to alarm me. Cleopatra had let me meet her son though and before she died she told me to look after Gupta. And after Athena had died it was Gupta who told me about you," I said returning to the present and looked at Heracles. "I have to look after you; your mother would have wanted me to. And being with you, it's almost like being with her again."

He was staring at me, absolutely entranced, and when he finally realized that my story was over all he could say was, "Wow."

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Author's Note:

I'm so glad I finally got this chapter up.

Thank you so much to my reviewers/favoriter/alerters. You all rock and win at life. I really love hearing from all of you.

Oh something I want to mention is that, it is very unclear when Rome actually fell. I spent a great deal of time researching it but it's all very estimated and it depends on what you consider to be Rome. If you consider the Byzantine Empire to be part of Rome (which I don't and a lot of scholars don't either apparently), it lasted about a thousand years longer than the rest of Rome. So 600 is just a nice round number I came up with.

I know I promised that chapter 8 would be up with this chapter, but it needs some tweaking. But it will be up very very shortly.


	8. Lessons of Escape

Warning: This specific chapter is rated M, and is not for the weak stomached.

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Heracles POV

I could understand Sadiq better now. He was sitting there staring at me wistfully. And strangely enough I could sympathize with him. I couldn't even imagine spending six hundred years in a tiny cell with barely any human interaction at all. And the little he got he was beaten for it. But ironically he was doing sort of what Rome did to him to me. Although the arrangements Sadiq sent up for me were much more reasonable and comfortable.

Sadiq interrupted my thoughts. "Heracles, you know that I love you right? And that I would do anything for you."

I nodded, but I really didn't believe him. He didn't really love me, he loved that I was my mother's son. He couldn't possibly love me, he didn't really know me. I didn't know why he thought he did.

"I don't think I could bare it if you left me," Sadiq said very seriously. "If that happened I don't know what I'd do."

That didn't surprise me. But it wasn't going to stop me from trying to leave. I had already been thinking about how I could do it. I _had_ to get out of here.

Sadiq stood up from his cushion and helped me up. "Come on, let's go home."

It was no home to me. But I got up reluctantly and followed Sadiq out of the coffee shop.

Weeks had passed and Sadiq had made good on all his promises. He had taken me to the Hagia Sophia, which was absolutely amazing and taken me to see all his famous artist's studios. My injuries had almost healed and I could walk without a limp now. I started to put my plan into action about a week ago, now that I was strong enough to walk around on my own. Sadiq had been letting me explore by myself. I had done some exploring of the vast palace and some of the city. My conclusion was that I would need a map in order to find my way out. I took advantage of the lack of Sadiq's presence one day and I arranged for a boat to meet me on the docks during the dead of night to take me back home.

I was having mixed feelings about leaving though. Part of me didn't want to leave. I was fascinated with the city and its culture, there were so many things I wanted to do and see, but I wanted to go home at the same time. And then there was the issue of Sadiq, I was so confused. Part of me hated Sadiq with every fiber of being and another part of me liked him and sympathized with him. He was kind to me and he never hurt me, even if I deserved it. And I couldn't help feel guilty about what my mother had done to him. Sadiq didn't ever say anything but I knew it really screwed him up. But I still hated him for taking me away from my home, from my people.

I decided not to let my curiosity and sympathy get the better of me. I would be able to stay here only for a while longer before I would grow bored and want to go home, even more than I did now. And I felt bad for leaving Sadiq after everything he'd done for me, but I wanted my freedom back, I wanted to go home. And if I didn't leave soon I wasn't sure I would ever be able to get out.

And so my plan was set into action. Sadiq tucked me into bed as usual and said something to me in Turkish I couldn't interpret and then kissed my forehead. It had been a rough day, all day Sadiq kept asking why I was acting strange and I had to keep my cool and pretend like nothing was going on. It hadn't been easy; I had almost slipped up a couple of times. After Sadiq left it was only a matter of waiting. I waited until the dead of night to sneak out of Sadiq's palace. He had been letting me sleep in my room alone at night, and that made things easier. I only took one bag with me, and in that bag was my favorite cat, Pandora. I could feel her moving back and forth in the bag, but I was thankful she was being quiet. I would come back for the others later.

The palace halls were dark and deserted, Sadiq would be asleep in the next room, so if I got out of this one hallway without making a sound, I was home free. Or at least that's what I thought. There was something very eerie about the place at night when no one was around. I tip-toed my way down the long hall and tried to make out what I had drawn on the map. But it was very hard to see without any light. Crap, I hadn't thought about that. I would just have to try to go on memory. I slinked down the hall as noiselessly as a cat and turned the corner.

I knew that I had to go straight down the first corridor and then make a right, but after that, I had no clue. As I crept along I began to feel an extreme amount of fear, if Sadiq caught me, I would be in for it. Pandora made a loud mewling sound. I jumped about a foot in the air. "Shh, Pandi, do you want us to get caught?" I whispered to the black and white cat still inside my bag. As I rounded another corner I bumped into a large statue, as it fell, everything went in slow motion. I covered my mouth to stop from screaming "No!" There was a deafening crash that would wake the dead.

I took off running. Sadiq must have heard that. There was no possible way he couldn't have. I went hurtling down the hallway running as fast as I could. I kept running tearing around corners and knocking more stuff over. I was screwed; I was so screwed, unless by some miracle I managed to get to that damned boat. I just kept running praying to the gods that I would find the door. I ran down hallway after hallway, searching desperately for the exit.

And then something amazing happened, I turned a corner and there was the main exit that let straight out into the city. I sprinted towards it but all of a sudden I was yanked backwards by the collar of my tunic. Someone had caught me, and I could easily guess who. I could feel Sadiq standing behind me; I could just sense the rage radiating from him. Oh, fuck, I was dead. And I had been so close, so close to freedom!

"What do you think you're doing?!" he roared. He tore the bag off my back spinning me around to face him. An angry Pandora came lunging out of the bag, and managed to scratch Sadiq on the arm as she went hurtling in the other direction. This seemed to just enrage him more. He was shaking me violently now. I closed my eyes tight, praying that whatever he had in store for me, it would be quick. "Answer me!" he yelled.

"I…don't... know." I squeaked out.

"You were trying to run away. I know it!" He held up the map of the palace I hand drawn. I must have dropped it somewhere along my way running here. I just stood there gazing at him totally petrified. "I trusted that you could take care of yourself, and this is what you do with that trust?" he demanded shaking the piece of paper in my face. I winced fearfully. He grabbed me roughly by my arm and started to drag me along the dark corridors. "I'll teach you to run away from me." He muttered darkly. " I warned you about this Heracles!"

I had never seen him this upset; he looked out of his mind with rage. If I didn't know better, I would say he was seeing red. I was panicked; there was no getting out of whatever punishment Sadiq had in store for me. And I knew it would be harsh. I was scared to death that he would kill me. "I can't believe you would try this! After everything I have done for you, after all that crap I've put up with. After everything I told you! I never expected you to do this!" he said lividly. "No more, Heracles, I refuse to tolerate this any longer!"

Sadiq hurled me violently into a room. My body fell heavily onto the hard stone floor. I groaned in pain. Tears were already running down face. Sadiq stormed in looking like an angry bull ready to attack. I cowered away from him. I was in a stone room of some kind; it looked like a torture chamber. The room had chains and whips hanging on the wall. This had been a huge mistake. He was going to kill me; I could just tell by the anger in his eyes. It was the most terrifying thing I had ever experienced. I didn't want to die; I really didn't want to die. I prayed to Demeter to protect me. Please, just let me live through this.

"You dare try to escape?!" Sadiq roared at the top of his lungs. "After everything I've done for you?" he looked insane. His eyes glowered into mine. Once again, I backed away towards the wall. He moved forward and struck me hard in the face. I tried not to make a sound, but it didn't work, I made a pathetic sounding yelping noise.

He violently ripped off my clothes and threw them aside. Oh god, I knew what was coming. Please anything but that. I couldn't stand even the thought of it. I was suddenly force to my feet. Sadiq dragged me over to the center of the room where there were a set of chains hanging from the ceiling and chains coming up from the floor. He clamped heavy metal shackles around my wrists and ankles so I was spread eagle standing up. I was going to die, he was going to torture me, then kill me. I would die trying to be free, like my people had done for me, at least I had that. But I couldn't let my nation die. No, I couldn't let my people down; I would do what I had to, to stay alive.

Sadiq had walked over and grabbed the biggest whip on the wall. I gulped squeezing my eyes tightly shut. I heard Sadiq walk over to me and then I felt his hand caressing my face and then suddenly he slapped me hard. "Look at me!" he demanded. I opened my eyes to see him face to face with me barely an inch apart. He had a slave collar in his hand and he put it securely around my neck. "You belong to me, and I will not tolerate this!" he walked backwards and then suddenly and without warning struck me with the whip. I cried out in pain.

He was circling around me like an angry, wild dog now. That look in his eyes was enough to kill. I knew he was seeing red; there was no other explanation for this. Sadiq would never do this under a cool, calm mind. "I cannot believe you would do this to me," Sadiq howled. "No not my Heracles, he would never do this to me."

I bite my tongue; I wanted to say I wasn't his anything. I belonged to myself. But that would surely enrage him even more, which I definitely did not want to happen. He struck me hard with the whip again. "Does that hurt Heracles?" he demanded. I didn't say anything. "That's nothing compared to the pain of your betrayal. Is it really that awful here, that you felt the need to do this?"

I couldn't help thinking that he was being mellow-dramatic. It was such an inappropriate thought when the man held my life in his hand. But this was the risk I had taken to be free. I knew now though, I probably would never be free, he would never let me go. But I had never expected him do to this. He struck me with the whip again, apparently determined to make me feel as much pain as possible, and he was off to a good start. My body was already injured from the abduction and the whip hit one of my broken ribs. I gave a blood curdling scream. It was pure agony. I wanted to go home; I wanted to be anywhere but here. "Answer me!" he shouted.

"No," I whimpered. Yes it was. Yes, it absolutely was that awful.

"Then what exactly possessed you to do this?" Sadiq demanded and cracked the whip against my back again, hitting a cut from a previous blow. I moaned. It hurt so damn much. "When I speak to you, you will answer me!" Sadiq growled.

"I don't know." I sobbed.

"I love you, you know," Sadiq said to me. "But is that ever good enough? No, apparently Heracles feels so god damn entitled to whatever he wants. Well that's not the way life works!" he shouted and hit me again.

I had no idea what he was talking about. "You are mine, like it or not." He told me. It hurt too much to really think about anything else. All I knew was that I felt like I would die here.

He hit me several times more times, over and over again. I knew he was saying something, but I couldn't make out the words, through the pain. "Please, no, please stop." I begged. I couldn't take much more of this.

"You want me to stop?" Sadiq asked.

"Yes, please, please make it stop." I whimpered. I couldn't help it. I didn't want to show him my weakness, but this was too much.

"I can't do that, not until you've learned your place." He growled.

"I'm sorry, I won't do it again." I pleaded. And I probably wouldn't try it again after this.

"Don't lie to me! You are not sorry, you're only sorry you got caught!" he snarled with another strike.

"No, I mean it!" I said, half shrieking as I struggled against the chains that bound me and forced me to endure whatever sick torture method he had in store.

He shook his head disbelievingly. "Do you not understand you can not win this battle?" Sadiq demanded. "There is nowhere for you to go; even if you had managed to escape, I would hunt you down like a dog and take back what is mine." Another crack of the whip sounded through the air and sliced at my already raw, injured skin.

I could not endure this any longer. My entire back was bleeding now; his last strike had been to the back of my knees and they buckled under the pain. "Please, just stop!" I begged. "I'm yours! Please just stop it. It hurts so much." I whimpered.

Sadiq walked over to me and put his face about an inch away from mine. It looked like he was analyzing me. "You had better not forget it, Heracles. You are mine and you will always be mine!"

"Yes, fine, I'm yours." I begged. "Please stop this, it hurts so much. I'm sorry."

"Damn right you're sorry." Sadiq said looking sickly satisfied at my pain..

"Then let me go." I sobbed. "Please let me go. It hurts. Please, I'll do anything, just make it stop." The heavy metal restraints were digging into my wrists and ankles making them bleed. I just wanted to curl up into a ball and die. I hated him. Tears were still streaming down my face. They burned the cuts as they fell.

Sadiq looked at me for a long moment then his expression changed drastically, he looked devious. He threw the whip aside, thank god. He approached me and smashed his lips onto mine. I wasn't sure what to do, so I just followed his lead. I did my best not to be repulsed. I tried to pretend it was anyone else kissing me. His one hand entangled itself it my hair and the other was clutching at my butt. I didn't care what he did to me as long as he let me down from these chains.

Sadiq reached up and freed my wrists from the shackles. I fell heavily on to the hard stone floor. I sighed in relief, the cold stones felt heavenly against my injured body. I thought that the torture was done with, but I couldn't have been more wrong. Sadiq walked away and grabbed something, I didn't pay attention; I was too absorbed in my pain to notice. When he came back he forced me facedown into the floor and grabbed my wrists and tied them behind my back.

He grabbed me by the collar that was still around my neck and forced me onto my knees. I closed my eyes tightly. He was kneeling behind me and I could feel his organ pressed against me. I could feel the blood rushing to my face. I felt sick and humiliated. He started nibbling on my ear and whispered into to it. "You said anything. I have wanted to do this for so long." And then his mouth moved on to sucking and biting my neck. It felt so good and yet so awful. Sadiq's hands were running up and down my chest and they inched lower and lower. He gently grazed the tip of my member and my back arched and I uttered a small noise of pleasure. Mixed in with a noise of disgust at myself, for letting myself enjoy what this sadistic bastard was doing.

I could feel Sadiq grinning against my shoulder, where he was currently nipping at. His hands wandered back up to my stomach and he was stroking it lightly making shivers of pleasure run down my spine. "Stop...it." I choked out. I hated this; I wanted him to get the hell off me. And then all of a sudden he pushed me down onto my stomach and plunged himself into me. I let out scream. It was agonizing pain, it didn't even compare to the torture I had just endured. My muscles burned, I felt like Sadiq would break me if he even moved an inch. I wanted him out of me, I felt so violated. "Ah, no, please, stop it." I begged fresh tears streaming down my face

And then Sadiq began to thrust into me and the pain intensified, but now had a hint of pleasure, he was hitting against a tender spot every time he made a movement, making it feel good. But it still hurt like a bitch. Sadiq was making disgusting grunting noises that made me want to vomit. I couldn't think, my mind had shut off and pure ecstasy was pulsing through my body. I couldn't help the moans now. Sadiq had reached under me and it only took a few minutes before I was gone. I wanted to collapse against the floor but Sadiq had grabbed a hold of me around my waist and forced me to stay up. It didn't take long for Sadiq to finish up though. He collapsed on top of me and was panting heavily.

I moaned, he was heavy on top of me. And he was still inside of me which felt so awful. After a few long moments he pulled out and he got up. I felt so sick and so violated and used. I felt so dirty. I curled up into a ball with my arms still tied behind my back. Now blood was trickling down my legs from my butt. It felt so disgusting. I didn't know what was worse, my mental anguish or the physical pain. I didn't notice where Sadiq had gone and I didn't care. I felt so broken, and I felt hopeless. Sadiq would never let me go. And there was no point trying if this was the consequence. All of a sudden Sadiq was leaning over me straitening my body so I was face down again. I feared he was going to rape me again. "Oh god, please no, I can't take this anymore!" I sobbed.

And then I felt a white hot burning on my ass, and I screamed and turned my head around to see what he was doing, but I couldn't. It only lasted a few seconds but the pain seemed to last forever. Eventually the main source of the heat was pulled away but it still hurt like hell. I saw Sadiq walking away with a red hot poker, the tip in the shape of the Turkish symbol. That sick bastard had _branded_ me.

Sadiq threw the poker back into its holder next to a fireplace I hadn't noticed before. He walked back over to me and stood over me, apparently admiring his work. "Now you won't ever forget who you belong to. You _are_ mine."

* * *

Author's Note:

Hey everyone, see I promised you it would be up soon. So this is my first attempt at writing a sex/rape scene so please don't bludgeon me to death.

And I know nobody cares but Pandora is the name of my own recently deceased kitty. It's kind of my weird way of honoring her.

And I need to thank Earth-Fire and Wicca cause she's awesome and she edits for me. And she listens to me rant about Sadiq chapter at 4am, so for that, she wins at life.

Anyway, I like this chapter a lot and really want to know what you guys think of it. As always I want to thank my reviewers/favoriters/alerters you all are just totally awesome.

Chap 9 is sure to be epic and will be up as soon as possible


	9. Guilt

Sadiq POV

As I cut the rope that bound Heracles I began to regain control over myself. And what I had just done flooded over me. How could I have done _this_ to him? How could I lose myself completely? Oh, god, and _what_ had I _done_? I looked down at the sobbing boy at my feet and wanted nothing more to hug him and make what I had just done go away. But I just could not make myself do it. I couldn't figure out why I couldn't do it, but I couldn't. It had all felt so surreal. So many emotions flooded through me. Why did everything have to turn out so wrong? And why couldn't I just control myself?

I just couldn't stand seeing him like this. It pained me to see him whimpering and sobbing at my feet, and what made it worse was that I was responsible for this. I was the source of his pain. I needed to be left by myself right now, I couldn't stand to look at him; I felt so totally and utterly guilty. I couldn't just leave Heracles here. So I decided to go get him something that would help him sleep. I walked out of the room without saying a word to him and headed down to the kitchen to fetch him the most potent wine I had. I couldn't stand this, I hated that I had done this to Heracles, and I hated that he had done this to me. Nobody had ever made me lose all my control, ever, except him.

Had I not told him that I couldn't bear it if he tried to leave me? And what was I doing so wrong that he would try this anyway? I did everything for him. I even let him have relative freedom; there was no reason for him to do this. I had tried so hard to make him understand just how important he was. And it all backfired, just like everything always did.

I fetched the wine and a cup and brought it back to the room I had left Heracles in. I mentally vowed to myself never to go into this room again if I could help it. Heracles was huddled in the spot I had left him. When he saw me his entire body started to shake. God, how I could have done this to him was a total mystery to me. I was supposed to take care of him, not hurt him. I crouched down to Heracles and poured the wine into the cup. I offered it to him but he looked at it suspiciously. "Come on, it's just wine," I promised.

I helped him sit up because I wasn't sure he could do it himself. I offered the wine again and he sniffed it and took a long drink. He drank the whole cup in a few gulps. I hoped this would numb the pain or at least take him away from it for awhile. I couldn't help but just stare at the damage I had inflicted on his body. It hurt just looking at it; I couldn't imagine what it felt like on Heracles' side. His eyes were staring at me accusatorily. God, I was such a monster. How could I do this? And how could I just snap and totally ruin everything I had built build up over the last couple of months? I turned away angrily, not wanting to face that stare.

Damn it! I was so angry! Why had Heracles done this in the first place? I couldn't separate all the emotions flooding through my body. I was angry, disgusted, sick and most of all, hurt. I loved him and he just didn't care, he didn't care if I poured out my heart and soul to him. All he could see was what he didn't have. And it wasn't even like what he didn't have was that big of a deal. I let him do whatever he wanted. I had even been considering taking him back to Greece and moving in with him there.

I was so selfish; I didn't know why I expected anyone to love me back in the first place. The only one who had ever really loved me was gone. She was the only one. I had just wanted a part of her back. I never talked about it, but something had died when Athena left me, and I thought that maybe, just maybe, Heracles could bring it back. I don't want to be this way anymore. I just wanted something of her back, and Heracles was the only thing left to hold on to. It didn't matter how many centuries passed I would never stop loving her. And that meant I automatically loved Heracles.

By now Heracles' eyes had closed sleepily. I tenderly pick him up and carried him out of the room. I wasn't quite sure what to do with him. Should I take him to his room or mine? I decided on my room; I wanted to keep an eye on him. He was still mine after all. I would not let him go; he was the only thing I had left. I hadn't told Heracles this, but Athena would always be mine; I just wanted the same from Heracles. I tried so hard to save her, but she gave up, and left me here in pieces. She always had wanted a great escape. She never was for this world; she was just too spiritual. And she always had her mind anywhere but here on earth with us. I was so lost without her, and I had finally thought everything would be ok if I had Heracles.

I walked down the long corridors lost deep in my thoughts. I pushed open the door that led into my room and put the sleeping boy down on the bed so he was lying on his stomach. I didn't want to aggravate the wounds on his back. It wasn't like I was trying to be like this, I just snapped. I was so sorry for what I had done and I would be sorry for it everyday. I couldn't understand why I couldn't just control myself. I sat down in a chair across the room and just stared at the sleeping boy for a long time.

This was not how I imagined my life. I didn't know how or when I had become so violent nor did I know why I couldn't control myself. And I had to keep Heracles drugged just so I wouldn't have to face him. So I wouldn't have to face those eyes that looked so much like his mother's. I felt so ashamed of myself for losing control. Control was something I most valued about myself and I had just lost it. The pain of the entire situation was overwhelming. Was it too much to ask for Heracles to at least like me? I didn't think so but apparently he did.

Apparently he didn't think I could have my heart broken for some reason either. Did I really come off so cold and heartless? I was sick of this. I was sick of the pain from everything. Heracles couldn't possibly understand what I was going through, he was so young, and he was so selfish. He had never lost anyone important to him. He could barely remember his mother, and she was the only thing I could remember.

But I couldn't justify what I had just done. I couldn't blame it all on him, it was partially his own fault, but I was the adult and I was supposed to be responsible. But I couldn't take that. No not that, I would put up with anything but that. He was mine whether he liked it or not. But I shouldn't have overreacted like _that_.

I don't know what I was thinking, but I felt awful. I knew I needed to talk to Heracles. I needed to make things right. But I dreaded he would wake up in pain and that would be enough to have all his defenses up. He would never listen to a word I had to say and he would just continue to hate me. And that was the worst part.

I just wanted him to love me. For the first time in several centuries I felt tears running down my face. I couldn't stand being awake any longer. I grabbed a wine flask and drank straight from it. I drained the whole thing and then laid down next to Heracles and shut my eyes trying to get the horrific vision of what I had done out of my head. As I lay there trying to sleep there was a part of me hidden deep inside that felt satisfied with what I had done.

It purred in pleasure when it saw the brand on Heracles' ass and the collar around his neck. And it reveled in the thought of raping Heracles again. And it was that dark side that I fought all the time. I couldn't help but stare lustfully at his sleeping body, but when my eyes reached that damaged back, I drew away repulsed. I had done that, I felt sick and angry with myself, and angry at Heracles. It must be a family trait to betray people that loved them. More anger washed over me and suddenly I wanted to punch something. But the wine was getting to me and I started to calm down and soon I fell asleep.

I woke up suddenly, panting heavily. My mind was racing from what I had just dreamed. It was all a blur, but I remembered Athena being there, and I remembered her crying out to me. But that was all and I couldn't remember why she had been so upset. It was the same dream I had frequently, over and over. I didn't know why it shook me up so much this time. It had always upset me but this time it was different. Maybe it was because I had let her down and this time I went into it with a much guiltier mind. Or maybe it was because I wanted her here with me more than ever. Heracles was a poor substitute for her. Or maybe it was the fact that I had gone and found a substitute at all that made it worse.

I shook my head at myself. No, he wasn't a substitute. I couldn't think of it like that. It was an insult to him and an insult to Athena for even considering the possibility that she could be replaced. As similar as Heracles was to Athena he was just as different. I shouldn't be worrying so much about the old ghost of a memory that was Athena, not when I had a very alive, breathing Heracles in the bed beside me. Especially not when he was hurting so bad, that even in his sleep he was whimpering in pain. This easily brought the half repressed guilt I was fighting off back to center stage.

I reached across and ran my fingers through his thick, brown hair, trying to soothe him. I whispered softly into his ear. "Shh, it's ok." He let out another tiny whimper. "I'm so sorry; I didn't mean to do this." I sighed and kissed the side of his head. I sat there for a long time repeating variations of the same thing over and over.

Heracles' eyes opened blearily. He blinked at me once and then his face contorted into a horrible grimace of pain. I felt my chest nearly split in two. I looked away quickly, trying to expunge that expression out of my thoughts. I tried very hard not to let him see the tears that were welled up in my eyes. "Go back to sleep Heracles."

I couldn't deal with him yet, I could hardly deal with myself. I wanted to tell him that I was sorry, and that I never would do it again. I wanted to tell him while he was awake and not just while he was unconscious. But I couldn't, I knew I had been wrong, but he couldn't know that. Otherwise what I had done would be totally in vain. I would do everything in my power to stop myself in the future. But he couldn't know how torn up about this I was.

But I knew he wasn't going to listen to me; he never listened to me. He was staring at me, I could just feel it. I turned my face back to him and his face wasn't giving away the pain as easily. But he was wearing such an odd expression though. It wasn't one I had ever seen him wear. It wasn't anger or hate. I couldn't put my finger on it. The look seemed almost dead. I looked around the room searching for more wine. I didn't want to have to deal with this right now. But soon his eyes were closing sleepily again and I was grateful I could put off dealing with him until later.

It was a few days later and I was sitting in my room staring emptily at the wall. Heracles was in the bath getting taken care of by my servants, because this time I couldn't bear to do it. I could stand to see my love's back beaten and dripping in blood, especially since I had been the one to inflict those ghastly wounds upon him.

I didn't know what the point of going on was. The only person I had left despised me and wished I was dead. The only person who ever would have me was dead. And it wasn't like I hadn't had these thoughts before. Since the Roman regime they never seemed to go away. I had banked everything in Heracles and never for a minute did I consider he wouldn't want me. I had invested so much into him; I had put my last hope into him and now I had nothing. I was a shadow of my former self and there was no point going on like this.

And this never ending guilt and pain was wearing me thin. And that look Heracles would give me killed me. And maybe I was a coward for doing this, but I didn't care. It wasn't like anyone would miss me anyway. I could finally be with Athena again and if there was nothing afterwards, that would be better than the never ceasing turmoil my emotions went through. I took another long swig from the flask I was drinking out of. I knew I shouldn't drink; I knew it only seemed to make things worse, but I couldn't help it.

I bet no one would even notice if I was gone. Athena would, but she wasn't here. I would have thought her son would, but he didn't. The kid wanted me dead, there was no doubt in my mind that he didn't. There was such loathing in those eyes of his. I wanted to hate him back; I didn't want to care about him anymore. But I couldn't, he would do something that reminded me of Athena and then I would fall back in love with him all over again.

Ever since that night, Heracles had become different, less of himself, more broken. I didn't know if it was because of all the wine I was giving him or if it was because of what I had done earlier. Either way it didn't matter. I did not like seeing him like this, although the darker side, the less controlled side did. But I just tried very hard to repress that part deep inside.

The fact I had to repress myself made me feel more depressed. I felt like maybe if I weren't around the world would be a better place. And I could be with the people who really liked me then, back with Athena and Cleopatra. And then maybe for once I could be happy. And the pain in my chest would go away, and the guilt and hurt would cease too. I wouldn't have to feel anymore.

With that thought, I made up my mind to do what I had been fighting against for so long. I wasn't quite sure how I was going to do it, but it didn't really matter. I walked into my chambers. I sat down at my desk and started to write a small note for Heracles.

"_Heracles, I am certain right now you are jumping for joy that I am gone, but I want you to know that I never meant to hurt you. I only wanted to make you love me, but I see now that will never be possible, no matter how hard I try. I am just a source of anguish for you, and I don't want to be the thing that makes you cry anymore. I have failed you, and your mother, and nothing will ever be able to undo that. Just know that I do truly love you and this is why I am doing this. Please try to forgive me._

_Love always,_

_Sadiq" _

I folded the letter up and placed it on the desk where Heracles would find it easily. With that being done, there was nothing left to do except leave. I decided to do it on the bed; I figured I might as well be comfortable for the last few moments. I picked up a sharp dagger that was on the desk in my room and leaned against the pillows that lined my headboard.

I hesitantly drew the knife across my wrists and hissed in pain. The cut wasn't deep enough so I drew the dagger up again and sliced through my skin harder this time. I let out a deep moan of agony and started on the other wrist. After a few moments the pain started to ebb away. I could feel all my blood rushing towards the wounds. I'll be with Athena soon, and my world would cease to be. I was glad to be going. I was glad to see the thing that sustained my miserable existence rushing out of my body.

I started to grow cold, and my world slowly started to fade away. The black was closing in. It was peaceful and it didn't hurt. Then I heard a sudden call as I faded into unconsciousness.

"Sadiq!"

* * *

Author's notes:

Hey everyone, here it is! This chapter was extremely difficult to write, and I really hope it paid off. Let me know what you think of it.

I know Sadiq may be a bit OOC in this chapter, but in my head he's an emo child. And I know this may be a slightly shocking twist, but you'll see why I chose to go this way in the next chapter.

Thank you once again to all my reviewers/alerters/favoriters you all rock my socks.

And a special thanks to Earth-Fire and Wicca for editing for me.

The next chapter may take longer than usual because I start band camp (which consumes just as much time as school) on Monday and then school after that. But I will get it done as I soon as I can.


	10. In My Hands

Heracles' POV

I stood over Sadiq panicking. I looked around desperately. "Someone, help!" I called. I looked down at Sadiq's immobile body confused and frightened. I had no idea what had happened. It was the damn wine Sadiq kept giving me; I couldn't _think _straight. "Help!" I called again. "Please, anyone!" Sadiq was growing paler by the moment; if the bleeding did stop soon I knew he would die. I waited several long moments before I decided nobody was around to hear me. I remembered my mother telling me to put pressure on a large cut I had gotten from falling off a horse once. I assumed the same thing applied to other wounds.

I wasn't quite sure what I was doing, but I followed my instincts. I ripped a large strip of white linen from the sheets on the bed and balled it up into a wad and pressed it hard against the bleeding wound. I was worried the pressure wouldn't be enough; I wasn't very strong after all. I needed help. I couldn't deal with this on my own. I looked around wildly. "Come on, don't do this to me," I whimpered to Sadiq's nearly lifeless body. I really needed help, the other wrist was bleeding and I couldn't take the pressure off the first wound to deal with the other one, otherwise that one would start bleeding again.

"Help! Someone, please!" I yelled desperately. All the while my better judgment screamed at me to just let him die. But I ignored it. I couldn't just sit back and let him die, no matter how much I hated him. I just couldn't, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did. "Please, anyone?!" I cried hysterically. I would not let him die; I could not let him die. Not in my hands, and not if I could prevent it. "You can't die!" I yelled at Sadiq, "You can't, you're not allowed!" I sobbed and I was surprised to feel tears running my face. I didn't know what I was saying, but this didn't seem right. Not right at all. This was not how it was supposed to be. I was _not_ supposed to hold his life in my hands; I was only a kid. I prayed to the gods not to let him die, I prayed to every single one I could think of.

"Please," I sobbed. "Someone help!" Where was everyone? This place was always swarming with people when you didn't need them, but now I _did_ need them, and no one was around. "Help!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "Please, help! Sadiq is _dying_!" Would no one come to help? Did nobody care that he was dying except me? How screwed up was _that_? That only one who cared that he was dying was the person who hated him most in the world.

I lifted up the now blood-stained white linen to check to see if the wound had stopped bleeding, and by some miracle it had. I quickly tore off another clean strip of white linen and tied it around the wound tight like a tourniquet, just in case it started to bleed again. Then I started to work on the other injury on Sadiq's other arm by wading up another piece of cloth and applying the same pressure on it. "Come on, Sadiq!" I was beginning to feel hopeful that maybe this was working. "That's right, you don't want to die. Fight, Sadiq! Fight!" I begged. "Someone, help," I called again desperately. And this time, finally, someone heard me. I could hear their footsteps racing down the hall.

"Heracles?" a familiar voice shouted.

"Gupta," I shouted. "I'm in here! Please hurry; Sadiq is dying!"

"What?" he demanded and he appeared in the doorway. His face immediately drained of all color when he saw the scene before him. "Oh, my god!" He rushed over to where I was and grabbed the cloth from my hands and pushed down on the still bleeding wound with more strength than I ever could have managed. "What happened?" he demanded staring at me accusatorily.

I shook my head, "I have no idea. I found him like this."

Gupta didn't look convinced. "Here, move his other arm above his head, it makes it harder for the blood to flow there."

I did like he told me to, hoping and praying that he knew what he was doing. After several long moments of holding my breath, Gupta breathed out a long sigh of relief. The bleeding in the other wrist had finally stopped as well. I watched as the Egyptian tore off another strip of fabric from the bed and tied it like a tourniquet around Sadiq's wrist. I wiped the tears off my face with the sleeve of my tunic.

"What the hell happened?" Gupta demanded once again.

"I told you, I don't know. He was like that when I came back from my bath."

Gupta shook his head. "It looks like he tried to commit suicide."

"What is suicide?" I asked.

"It's when someone tries to kill themselves," he explained.

My eyes widened in horror. "Why on earth would anyone want to do that?"

"He probably was unhappy. Did he leave a note?"

"I don't know. I didn't look for one; I was kind of distracted," I said slightly irritated. I couldn't understand why Sadiq would want to kill himself, that didn't even make sense. He wasn't the one who was captured, tortured, and raped. If anyone should try to kill themselves it should be me. And what the hell was Sadiq so god damn miserable about that he felt the need to off himself?

"I found it," Gupta called from behind me holding up it up. "It's addressed to you."

I walked over and grabbed the letter from his hand and tore it open. I read it silently. I was angry that he thought I would be happy about this. I didn't want him dead, I felt bad for the guy in some weird sick way. Rome had royally screwed him up, and my mother didn't help matters either. I hadn't known he felt so bad about what he did, but god, he was so stupid! Why did he think killing himself would make anything better? If anything, it would have made it worse; if he had died I would have felt awful and totally responsible. I didn't want anyone to die on behalf, even if they did it themselves. Tears sprung up in my eyes again. This was stupid. I shouldn't be crying for the bastard.

Maybe he did love me. That was a strange thought. But if he was willing to kill himself just so I could be happy, that had to mean something. He had been insisting he loved me since day one, and even though it didn't make much sense to me, that doesn't mean it isn't true. And that made me look at Sadiq in a totally new light. Maybe I shouldn't hate him so much. I hated what he did to me, but I didn't hate him. To some people it was the same thing; I thought the same thing for so long, but this hate was wearing me thin. I hated to hate him anymore. I was tired of it, and it was eating away at me. I didn't even feel like myself anymore. I was never so angry or bitter in my entire life, however short it was. The anger had been consuming me, and I could let it do that anymore. I had to accept that that this was the way life was right now, even if I didn't like it. I hated the things Sadiq did, not Sadiq himself. And to be honest, day to day life with Sadiq wasn't that bad.

It was like there were two people living inside Sadiq. One was nice and tolerable and even lovable at times; the other was mean and nasty and cruel. And I _hated _the latter. But fortunately for me he didn't show up too often. I felt a sudden need to give the mean Sadiq a different name; it wasn't fair to call them by the same name, when they were both so very different.

I thought carefully for a long moment. Ate was the Greek god of evil and misfortune, but I wasn't sure I wanted to name it that. It seemed too harsh. Perhaps Melancton was a better name as it meant dark flower in Greek. To me that's exactly what Sadiq was. And the Melancton side of Sadiq I knew came from his days while he was imprisoned by Rome. It wasn't his fault, and I shouldn't treat Melancton like the same person as Sadiq, because they weren't. Sadiq was loving, and considerate and kind, and gentle, while Melancton was sick, utterly sadistic, and extremely possessive. The burn on my backside was a testament to the last one. I could live with Sadiq and maybe even love him, but Melancton was intolerable.

But as long as I could tell the difference between the two conflicting sides I could deal with it. And the person who had tried to kill themselves was Sadiq and that was who was lying motionless on the bed. He had felt so bad about what he did; he thought he needed to do this. Because Sadiq had fallen victim to Melacton.

"What does it say?" Gupta said, interrupting my thoughts.

I silently handed over the letter, and turned my back to Gupta as he read it. I wondered what he was thinking. The note hadn't said anything about him, and he knew that Sadiq and Gupta were on good terms, almost friends. This was such a selfish thing of Sadiq to do. Hadn't he known I wouldn't be the only one who cared if he was dead?

"Well it's a good thing he didn't try this in the bath house in water, his blood wouldn't have clotted," Gupta said. I nodded silently in agreement, although I had no idea what he meant. "I want you to stay with him until he wakes up; make sure he's still breathing."

"I will." I had been planning on it anyway. And without another word Gupta placed the letter back on the desk and walked out the door. I looked at the blood-soaked bed clothes and contemplated finding a way to change them, but I didn't see a way to do it. I couldn't move Sadiq off the bed by myself. So I decided just to settle on the bed with Sadiq.

I could hear his heartbeat as I lay close to him. I had never been so relieved to hear the familiar sound, as I was now. It was strange that Sadiq's heart kept fighting, so hard, even when Sadiq's mind had so desperately wanted to die. Or at least he had thought he wanted to die; but I didn't really think he did, not really anyway. And now I knew that I didn't really want him dead either, although before this incident I thought I had. I wondered if I would live to regret the decision to save him. But, I reminded myself, even if I did regret it later on, it had been the right decision. It wouldn't have been right to just leave him there to bleed to death if I could stop it.

My cat Pandora walked into the door and meowed very loudly at me. I sighed and called to her softly and she promptly walked over to the bed and hopped onto it. I scratched her head and she flopped down against my leg, purring her head off. "What are we going to do with Sadiq?" I asked her in Greek softly.

She answered me with a little mew and stared intently at me. That was one of the many things I liked about her, you could carry on an entire conversation with her and she'd always answer you with a little meow or chirp or whatever other random sound she chose at the moment.

The steady rumble in Pandi's chest was very soothing. I turned to the bedside table and grabbed a book that was sitting there. I thumbed through pages, I was pretty sure I knew the story already. It was by Menander, one of my mother's writers. He was considered 'the great comedy writer'. Although I didn't care for his work much, there was too much violence in his plays. I preferred Aristophanes. But it didn't matter, I was bored and I didn't know how long it would take for Sadiq to wake up.

I was almost on the last part of the book and several hours had passed by, when I finally heard a groan come from the other side of the bed. I looked over to see Sadiq finally stirring. I held my breath; I wasn't sure what I was going to say to him. He gingerly sat up and looked around. Sadiq stared around the room intently for a long moment and then he turned and looked at me. He looked surprised. I could almost just hear his mind working. I knew he was thinking that Elysia looked an awful lot like his home, and he probably was expecting to be greeted by my mother or his friend Cleopatra.

"You're not dead," I quickly answered his unasked question. Sadiq stared at me silently as if he was trying to figure out something very complicated. "You were very close to being dead, but you're not."

He looked down at the tourniquets around his wrists. "They hurt." He said looking at me as if this surprised him.

"Well, I imagine they would, you did slice through them with a knife after all." I said resisting the urge to roll my eyes.

"What happened?" he asked.

"I saved you," I muttered softly. I felt my face grow red.

"You what?" Sadiq asked disbelievingly.

"I saved you." I said again, this time a little more loudly and confidently.

"Why? You hate me."

"I don't hate you, but you are such an idiot!" I said shoving at him with all my strength, but he hardly budged. Typical. I felt tears running down my face again.

He stared at me with surprise, but then he grinned that stupid smile of his and pulled me into a hug. "How could you be so stupid?" I demanded even while I wrapped my own arms around his neck. Sadiq's hands moved to my head and pulled me close against him. "You are such an idiot," I sobbed.

"Don't you ever do that again," I demanded suddenly. "You scared me half to death, you bastard!"

Sadiq murmured an apology softly and then said, "Please don't cry, it's ok. I'm alright." He gently wiped away the tears in my eyes. But that didn't stop the fresh tears forming.

"No it's not alright. You tried to kill yourself, Sadiq!" I let out a heavy sigh. "What were you thinking?" I pleaded. I needed to know why he really did this and not just what he had written in that stupid note.

"You wouldn't understand," he said shaking his head.

"Try me," I asked while I made myself more comfortable in Sadiq's arms.

Sadiq looked at me for a long moment and then closed his eyes and scrunched his forehead like he had a headache. "Heracles, please, just leave it alone. I don't want to talk about it."

I sighed again and didn't say anything. I knew better than to push the issue. But I wasn't about to forget it, Sadiq still had some major explaining to do. But for now I accepted just sitting in Sadiq's arms for awhile. It was strange how our bodies fit so well together. After a long while in silence I spoke up. "You need to go talk to Gupta, I think he's really upset," I said. "Not that he'd tell me, you know what he's like, but I can tell. Besides he helped me save you." _And he deserves an explanation just like me,_ I finished in my head.

"I will, but it can wait for now." He nestled himself closer to me. "I don't feel very well, can we lie down?"

I was surprised to be included in the proposition; I had been expecting to leave when he went back to sleep, but I nodded. Sadiq adjusted us so we were both lying on our sides. He had one arm draped around me, pulling me even closer. It was like he was desperate for human contact. I wasn't tired but I knew losing all that blood must have made him weak. Sadiq being weak was very strange. He was so much larger, and had so much power over me. Sometimes I felt like his toy; he loved to play with my emotions, and my body. I felt like one of those puppets that have strings on each of their joints and Sadiq was the puppet master. And he would send me twisting and spiraling around making me do this elaborate dance. And he knew he had this power over me. And what hurt the worse was that he chose to use it. Maybe he didn't mean to use it, but that didn't make it any better.

And because of that stupid dance my emotions were all tangled and twisted into a knot. One minute I hated the bastard so much I could hardly breathe, and the next something vaguely like fondness or maybe even love would wash over me. And I reminded myself that Sadiq is the good guy and Melancton was the one I didn't like. Sadiq buried his face in my neck and placed a kiss on the back of my neck, sending shivers down my spine. "I love you," he said.

Shortly after that he fell asleep and I answered him back. "I think, maybe, I might love you too," I whispered softly.

* * *

Author's Note:

So here it, finally. I know this took a horrifically long time. And I know with such a cliffhanger I left it at, it must of been very annoying. I apologize so much, it's just been a crazy last couple of weeks.

Did anyone really think I would let Sadiq die? Never, I love him to much. I actually ended up liking Sadiq a lot more since I started writing this fic. I think he's a fascinating character.

As always I thank my reviewer/favoriters/and alerters. I thank you all so much. I can wait to see what you think of this chapter.

Chapter 11 is in the works


	11. Discussions

Sadiq POV

Waking up was a difficult task. When I came to, I felt very strange. The weakness had spread all throughout my body, and it was very tough to move. Although, truth be told, I wasn't trying very hard. It was very comfortable and warm. Heracles was curled up next to me, my arms still wrapped around him. His hands were clasped around mine, as if he approved of their presence. I gently tightened my grip on him and nuzzled my face into his shoulder.

I was unsure whether or not Heracles was awake. His breathing was steady but not deep. It was likely that he was in deep thought. I was puzzled by the strange boy that lay in my arms. I had thought he hated me; I wouldn't have blamed him for hating me. Hell, I hated myself enough for both of us, but I couldn't understand _why_ he didn't hate me. It was strange. Now that I knew he didn't hate me, I almost felt like I wanted him to hate me. I felt like he should hate me just as much as I hated myself. Heracles was too good to me; he was too kind, too forgiving…

God, what was wrong with me? I had spent so much time pining over how I thought he hated me, and now that he didn't hate me, I wanted him to. I had _wanted_ this so much. No, I still wanted it, but I felt like this was too good to be true. It made no sense that he wouldn't hate me, not after everything I've done. It felt like maybe I had really died and gone to Elysia, but that couldn't be, because Athena would have been there. Heracles shifted in my arms so now his head was resting on my chest and one of his arms draped around me. I _must_ be dead, I thought, the real Heracles would never do that.

Heracles let out a sigh. The more startling realization was that people didn't sigh in their sleep. He must have been fully conscience of his movements. Then something even more unexpected happened, Heracles reached behind him and grabbed my arm and draped it around himself. And at that moment I nearly exploded with happiness. I didn't understand why he was doing this, but I didn't care, it just felt so right to have him tucked willingly under my arm. I wondered if he knew I was awake. My guess was not, but it didn't matter. Heracles let out another soft sigh and nuzzled himself into me.

I wished I could dive deep into his mind and figure him out. The things he did, the things he said, perplexed me. But, oh, how I loved him. I loved everything about him, I loved that he was a mystery and a challenge, and I loved that he was so delicate. I loved those eyes that could pierce through my soul, so like his mothers. I loved that he was so like Athena and yet so very different. I loved his spunk and I loved how sweet he was at the same time. I loved his soft hair, with the cute double curl perched on top. I was overwhelmed with love, something that I had not experienced in a very long time. There were butterflies in my stomach every time I so much as looked at him. What made it even better was that Heracles that Heracles seemed consenting to my love, as if he didn't mind it anymore. If that isn't a miracle I don't know what was.

I decided to let Heracles know that I was awake. I gently poked him and the Greek jumped a foot in the air. "Geez, don't scare me like that!" Heracles cried indignantly once he realized what had happened. I chuckled and playfully messed up his hair, which earned me a glare.

"Sorry." I said.

Heracles sat up and stretched and let out a very fake yawn. He must have been trying to convince me that he had been asleep when I poked him. "Are you feeling any better?" he asked, genuine concern in his voice.

"A little," I said. It was only half true; I still felt dreadful. My entire body ached and I still felt exhausted but my wrists didn't hurt quite as much. Heracles seemed satisfied with the half lie and lay back down next to me, closer than usual. I wrapped an arm around him, ignoring the sudden pain that shot through my body. Once again I found myself wondering about what Heracles was thinking, especially when he flipped over to stare at me. His eyes were seemed to search for something in my expression, like he was looking for some answer to some unasked question. It was making me feel uncomfortable. "What's wrong?" I asked wearily, reaching up and tucking a lock of his brown hair behind his ear.

He quickly broke eye contact and softly murmured, "Nothing." It was unlike him not to tell me exactly what his problem was. He usually made it very clear just exactly what was wrong with everything. His eyes resumed their scanning process just a moment later. It was eerie how much his expression matched Athena's. I sighed softly, I still missed her. And I wasn't sure if having Heracles around as a constant reminder of her absence was a good thing. But not having him would be worse, I knew that. Those scrutinizing eyes could not be ignored.

"Seriously, what's wrong? You're looking at me like you expect something,"

"Well…," he said very slowly, as if he were picking his words very carefully. "I think we need to talk."

I groaned. I should have known this was coming. How on earth did I explain my reasoning to him, or to anyone else for that matter? I couldn't even explain my reasoning to myself anymore. It was almost if that world had changed with the discovery of Heracles' new found attitude. He had saved me when he could have easily just let me die. And at the moment that seemed like a good enough reason to keep living. "About what?" I asked, trying to buy myself some time.

He glared at me. "You know very well what."

"I told you everything in the note I left you. I don't know what more you want," I said with a sigh. I really did not want to talk about this. Heracles must have known that. I did not do the whole 'discuss your feelings with others' thing, especially not something like this. The enormous amount of grief I still had left over from Athena's death was one of my deepest darkest secrets. I had never expressed to anyone the magnitude of pain it still caused me.

"You didn't explain _why_ you tried to kill yourself," Heracles said, looking me straight in the eye. "What you wrote can't be the only reason. It's not a good enough reason."

He was right. It wasn't the only reason, and it wasn't the main reason, but it was the only reason I even remotely felt like explaining. "Why isn't it a good enough reason?" I demanded trying to force fake anger in my tone.

Heracles sat up and stared at me with an odd expression on his face. "Because. It's not your fault." I stared at him trying to work out how he had come to that conclusion. It was most certainly my fault. "Well, it is kind of your fault, but not really, not entirely."

"And how has your strange little mind come to that conclusion?" I asked him still puzzled.

Heracles blushed, which was adorable. "It's just not," was all he said. He refused to answer me when I further questioned him on what he meant by that. He seemed to be embarrassed by his own reasoning, which was odd. I let it slide even though I was burning with curiosity. I hoped that this was the end of this particular conversation.

Of course I was not so lucky. After a short pause Heracles stared at me for a minute and then said, "You can trust me you know, I won't tell anyone."

That was a strange statement. Who would he have to tell? The only people he ever really talked to was Gupta and me. I honestly didn't care if Gupta knew. I was pretty sure he already knew why I did it. He had been there when Athena died. He had seen how overwhelmed with grief I had been. He knew I had never been the same again. Gupta had been there the first time I had tried to kill myself. So just who exactly was Heracles planning on telling this to, his cats? I didn't care if they knew either.

I supposed that it was the thought that counted. He had just promised not to betray me, and that meant a lot. But I couldn't tell him. I didn't want Heracles to think he was just a replacement. He wasn't. I had never expected to fall in love like this. When Gupta had first told me about Heracles, I wasn't sure I wanted to meet him. I didn't want to be reminded of what I had lost. I had made the trek to Greece grudgingly, at Gupta's insistence, but secretly filled with hope. When I arrived at Heracles' house I felt like the whole world was wrong. Athena had lived there and her absence hung over the place like a thick black blanket. I almost did not knock on Heracles' door; I almost walked away. But then Gupta's words filled my ears.

"He needs someone to look after him; he's not growing on his own. If Athena would have picked anyone to look after him, it would have been you," Gupta had said.

So I had knocked, and when I laid eyes on him, I knew I had made the right decision. Suddenly I was jerked out of my own thoughts by a very distraught Heracles. "Why don't you think you can trust me?" he demanded poking my shoulder very roughly.

I sighed. "It's not that. I do trust you."

"Then what? Why won't you just tell me? I deserve an explanation. You owe me that much. I _saved_ you."

I could see he was starting to get really upset again. I could see tears forming in his eyes again. This was not what I wanted. I had sworn I would not make him cry any more. I just could not figure out how to tell him. How could I tell him that I missed his mother so much that life wasn't worth living? And how could I tell him that I felt so guilty for everything I did to him. I was supposed to take care of him, supposed to protect him, supposed to make him happy. I had failed at every single one of those. It didn't matter if Heracles blamed me or not, I blamed myself. I had let Athena down, yet again. And nothing I ever did was good enough. I _hated_ myself because of it.

How am I supposed to tell a kid all this? I knew he was right; I did owe him an explanation. "I don't know how to explain it to you," I said. "I don't know how to say it so you can understand." I looked at him trying desperately to convey the message. I attempted to sit up; I wanted to pull Heracles into my arms again, but my muscles were violently protesting by sending pain shooting through my body.

"Lie back down, you idiot," Heracles said, pushing me back down with one finger. But then he curled up on my chest and I wrapped my arm around him and kissed the top of his head. Heracles turned to stare at me. "Just try to tell me, even if I don't understand, it's better than not knowing at all."

I sighed again. "Look Heracles, there's a lot I don't tell you. There are a lot of things that go on in my head that I don't particularly think you want to know."

"But I do want to know," Heracles immediately protested.

"Do you really? You may not like what you hear." I said hoping that he would listen to my warning.

"Just get on with it," he said rolling his eyes.

"Fine, you really want to know? Fine. I tried to kill myself because you hate me so much, and there's nothing I can do to make you like me, let alone love me. You won't even give me a chance, no matter what I do. You don't even care if I pour my heart and soul out to you, it doesn't matter." The floodgates had been opened and now everything was just rushing out. "You say you don't hate me, but I don't know how that's possible because _I_ hate me. I hate myself for hurting you, and you have no idea how guilty I feel about it. It tears me up inside. I hate myself because I let you down, and I hate myself because I let your mother down…" I said quickly, feeling tears fall from my eyes, "…and I miss Athena so much I can't breathe. She wasn't supposed to leave me; she was the only thing I ever had to live for. And I don't even know why I try any more, _everything _I doturns out so wrong," I finished.

Oh crap, I did not mean for all that to come out. I had only meant for a fraction of it to. I did not want him to know about how I felt about his mother death still. And I didn't want him to know that I hated myself. Heracles was staring at me with a blank expression on his face. I wished he'd say something, anything.

Finally Heracles reached up and wiped the tears away from my face. "I don't really hate you," he said softly. "You can be a bastard sometimes, but it's not really your fault. I don't think my mom would think you let her down. You're trying to take care of me. Even if you suck at it, I think that's all she wanted."

I stared at him for a long moment thinking over his words. I think that was the nicest thing he had ever said to me. It struck me funny that the nicest thing he had ever said to me still included the words 'bastard' and 'you suck.' But I supposed that was the best I could expect from him. I was still confused as to why he didn't think it was my fault, but I tried to just brush it off. I should be happy that he didn't blame me. "I wish I could believe that." I couldn't believe that Athena would rather I make an attempt and fail, than just leave Heracles to his own devices.

Heracles made to get up. "I'm going to go see if I can find you something to eat. Maybe you'll feel better once you get something into your stomach."

I reached up and grabbed his arm lightly. "Don't go… please." I didn't want him to leave, not yet. Heracles sighed and rolled his eyes but settled back down onto the bed. "You're the one who wanted to talk about this, and now that we _are_ talking about it, you can't just go running off."

"I really think you should eat something."

"I'm not hungry, and stop avoiding the issue."

"I don't know what you want me to say Sadiq, it's not okay that you tried to kill yourself. It's not. But you really shouldn't hate yourself; it's not your fault," Heracles said.

"I really wish you would stop saying that. It is my fault; I should have controlled myself, I should have been more careful." I sighed heavily. "And you abdicating me of my responsibility just makes me feel worse."

"Well, that's stupid," Heracles declared.

I was about to protest, when Heracles mouth collided with mine. He was kissing me. _He_ _was_ _kissing_ _me. _I was so stunned I forgot to move my mouth with his. But soon enough my instincts kicked in and I kissed him back. Heracles pulled away and stared at me intently. "It doesn't matter why I don't blame you, it only matters that I don't. Just don't ever do that again."

And with that he hopped off the bed and headed to the door. "I'm going to get something to eat," he said. "I'll bring you back something."

I was still in stunned disbelief. Had that really just happened? Heracles was still talking like his usual hateful self, but his actions were contradicting his words. He would tell me I'm a bastard, but hug me at the same time. It was very confusing. I wondered when 'bastard' had lost its meaning. He seemed to be using it out of habit now, like some kind of twisted pet name or something.

Heracles returned a little while after holding a plate of what I could only guess was supposed to be food. "What is _that_?" I asked him wearily.

"Don't worry about it, it's good, I cooked it for you," Heracles answered, handing the dish to me.

My Heracles had cooked for me? Maybe there was some hope for our relationship.

* * *

Author's Note:

So here it is at long long long last. I'm not going to bore you with the long list of reason's this wasn't done sooner, but there were a number of them. But you can thank those awesome pilgrims for inventing the holiday that is thanksgiving and the break that comes along with it, for the completion of this chapter. And the kind people over at my top choice college for accepting me and relieving that stress. I am so elated that I more time to write now.

Thank you to everyone who has waited so long for this chapter, you guys are all awesome, I give you all holiday cookies. As always I look forward to your reviews

One more chapter left folks and then it's all over. My goal is to get it done by the end of Christmas break, cause it's gonna be a long chapter.


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